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 Contents vii

3.2 The Method of Images 124

3.2.1 The Classic Image Problem 124
3.2.2 Induced Surface Charge 125
3.2.3 Force and Energy 126
3.2.4 Other Image Problems 127
3.3 Separation of Variables 130
3.3.1 Cartesian Coordinates 131
3.3.2 Spherical Coordinates 141
3.4 Multipole Expansion 151
3.4.1 Approximate Potentials at Large Distances 151
3.4.2 The Monopole and Dipole Terms 154
3.4.3 Origin of Coordinates in Multipole Expansions 157
3.4.4 The Electric Field of a Dipole 158

4 Electric Fields in Matter 167

4.1 Polarization 167
4.1.1 Dielectrics 167
4.1.2 Induced Dipoles 167
4.1.3 Alignment of Polar Molecules 170
4.1.4 Polarization 172
4.2 The Field of a Polarized Object 173
4.2.1 Bound Charges 173
4.2.2 Physical Interpretation of Bound Charges 176
4.2.3 The Field Inside a Dielectric 179
4.3 The Electric Displacement 181
4.3.1 Gauss’s Law in the Presence of Dielectrics 181
4.3.2 A Deceptive Parallel 184
4.3.3 Boundary Conditions 185
4.4 Linear Dielectrics 185
4.4.1 Susceptibility, Permittivity, Dielectric Constant 185
4.4.2 Boundary Value Problems with Linear Dielectrics 192
4.4.3 Energy in Dielectric Systems 197
4.4.4 Forces on Dielectrics 202

5 Magnetostatics 210
5.1 The Lorentz Force Law 210
5.1.1 Magnetic Fields 210
5.1.2 Magnetic Forces 212
5.1.3 Currents 216
5.2 The Biot-Savart Law 223
5.2.1 Steady Currents 223
5.2.2 The Magnetic Field of a Steady Current 224
viii Contents

5.3 The Divergence and Curl of B 229

5.3.1 Straight-Line Currents 229
5.3.2 The Divergence and Curl of B 231
5.3.3 Ampère’s Law 233
5.3.4 Comparison of Magnetostatics and Electrostatics 241
5.4 Magnetic Vector Potential 243
5.4.1 The Vector Potential 243
5.4.2 Boundary Conditions 249
5.4.3 Multipole Expansion of the Vector Potential 252

6 Magnetic Fields in Matter 266

6.1 Magnetization 266
6.1.1 Diamagnets, Paramagnets, Ferromagnets 266
6.1.2 Torques and Forces on Magnetic Dipoles 266
6.1.3 Effect of a Magnetic Field on Atomic Orbits 271
6.1.4 Magnetization 273
6.2 The Field of a Magnetized Object 274
6.2.1 Bound Currents 274
6.2.2 Physical Interpretation of Bound Currents 277
6.2.3 The Magnetic Field Inside Matter 279
6.3 The Auxiliary Field H 279
6.3.1 Ampère’s Law in Magnetized Materials 279
6.3.2 A Deceptive Parallel 283
6.3.3 Boundary Conditions 284
6.4 Linear and Nonlinear Media 284
6.4.1 Magnetic Susceptibility and Permeability 284
6.4.2 Ferromagnetism 288

7 Electrodynamics 296
7.1 Electromotive Force 296
7.1.1 Ohm’s Law 296
7.1.2 Electromotive Force 303
7.1.3 Motional emf 305
7.2 Electromagnetic Induction 312
7.2.1 Faraday’s Law 312
7.2.2 The Induced Electric Field 317
7.2.3 Inductance 321
7.2.4 Energy in Magnetic Fields 328
7.3 Maxwell’s Equations 332
7.3.1 Electrodynamics Before Maxwell 332
7.3.2 How Maxwell Fixed Ampère’s Law 334
7.3.3 Maxwell’s Equations 337
 Contents ix

7.3.4 Magnetic Charge 338

7.3.5 Maxwell’s Equations in Matter 340
7.3.6 Boundary Conditions 342

8 Conservation Laws 356

8.1 Charge and Energy 356
8.1.1 The Continuity Equation 356
8.1.2 Poynting’s Theorem 357
8.2 Momentum 360
8.2.1 Newton’s Third Law in Electrodynamics 360
8.2.2 Maxwell’s Stress Tensor 362
8.2.3 Conservation of Momentum 366
8.2.4 Angular Momentum 370
8.3 Magnetic Forces Do No Work 373

9 Electromagnetic Waves 382

9.1 Waves in One Dimension 382
9.1.1 The Wave Equation 382
9.1.2 Sinusoidal Waves 385
9.1.3 Boundary Conditions: Reflection and Transmission 388
9.1.4 Polarization 391
9.2 Electromagnetic Waves in Vacuum 393
9.2.1 The Wave Equation for E and B 393
9.2.2 Monochromatic Plane Waves 394
9.2.3 Energy and Momentum in Electromagnetic Waves 398
9.3 Electromagnetic Waves in Matter 401
9.3.1 Propagation in Linear Media 401
9.3.2 Reflection and Transmission at Normal Incidence 403
9.3.3 Reflection and Transmission at Oblique Incidence 405
9.4 Absorption and Dispersion 412
9.4.1 Electromagnetic Waves in Conductors 412
9.4.2 Reflection at a Conducting Surface 416
9.4.3 The Frequency Dependence of Permittivity 417
9.5 Guided Waves 425
9.5.1 Wave Guides 425
9.5.2 TE Waves in a Rectangular Wave Guide 428
9.5.3 The Coaxial Transmission Line 431

10 Potentials and Fields 436

10.1 The Potential Formulation 436
10.1.1 Scalar and Vector Potentials 436
10.1.2 Gauge Transformations 439
x Contents

10.1.3 Coulomb Gauge and Lorenz Gauge 440

10.1.4 Lorentz Force Law in Potential Form 442
10.2 Continuous Distributions 444
10.2.1 Retarded Potentials 444
10.2.2 Jefimenko’s Equations 449
10.3 Point Charges 451
10.3.1 Liénard-Wiechert Potentials 451
10.3.2 The Fields of a Moving Point Charge 456

11 Radiation 466
11.1 Dipole Radiation 466
11.1.1 What is Radiation? 466
11.1.2 Electric Dipole Radiation 467
11.1.3 Magnetic Dipole Radiation 473
11.1.4 Radiation from an Arbitrary Source 477
11.2 Point Charges 482
11.2.1 Power Radiated by a Point Charge 482
11.2.2 Radiation Reaction 488
11.2.3 The Mechanism Responsible for the Radiation
Reaction 492

12 Electrodynamics and Relativity 502

12.1 The Special Theory of Relativity 502
12.1.1 Einstein’s Postulates 502
12.1.2 The Geometry of Relativity 508
12.1.3 The Lorentz Transformations 519
12.1.4 The Structure of Spacetime 525
12.2 Relativistic Mechanics 532
12.2.1 Proper Time and Proper Velocity 532
12.2.2 Relativistic Energy and Momentum 535
12.2.3 Relativistic Kinematics 537
12.2.4 Relativistic Dynamics 542
12.3 Relativistic Electrodynamics 550
12.3.1 Magnetism as a Relativistic Phenomenon 550
12.3.2 How the Fields Transform 553
12.3.3 The Field Tensor 562
12.3.4 Electrodynamics in Tensor Notation 565
12.3.5 Relativistic Potentials 569

A Vector Calculus in Curvilinear Coordinates 575

A.1 Introduction 575
A.2 Notation 575
 Contents xi

A.3 Gradient 576

A.4 Divergence 577
A.5 Curl 579
A.6 Laplacian 581

B The Helmholtz Theorem 582

C Units 585

Index 589
 Preface

This is a textbook on electricity and magnetism, designed for an undergradu-

ate course at the junior or senior level. It can be covered comfortably in two
semesters, maybe even with room to spare for special topics (AC circuits, nu-
merical methods, plasma physics, transmission lines, antenna theory, etc.) A
one-semester course could reasonably stop after Chapter 7. Unlike quantum me-
chanics or thermal physics (for example), there is a fairly general consensus with
respect to the teaching of electrodynamics; the subjects to be included, and even
their order of presentation, are not particularly controversial, and textbooks differ
mainly in style and tone. My approach is perhaps less formal than most; I think
this makes difficult ideas more interesting and accessible.
For this new edition I have made a large number of small changes, in the in-
terests of clarity and grace. In a few places I have corrected serious errors. I have
added some problems and examples (and removed a few that were not effective).
And I have included more references to the accessible literature (particularly the
American Journal of Physics). I realize, of course, that most readers will not have
the time or inclination to consult these resources, but I think it is worthwhile
anyway, if only to emphasize that electrodynamics, notwithstanding its venerable
age, is very much alive, and intriguing new discoveries are being made all the
time. I hope that occasionally a problem will pique your curiosity, and you will
be inspired to look up the reference—some of them are real gems.
I have maintained three items of unorthodox notation:
• The Cartesian unit vectors are written x̂, ŷ, and ẑ (and, in general, all unit
vectors inherit the letter of the corresponding coordinate).

• The distance from the z axis in cylindrical coordinates is designated by s, to

avoid confusion with r (the distance from the origin, and the radial coordi-
nate in spherical coordinates).
• The script letter r denotes the vector from a source point r to the field point r
(see Figure). Some authors prefer the more explicit (r − r ). But this makes
many equations distractingly cumbersome, especially when the unit vector
r̂ is involved. I realize that unwary readers are tempted to interpret r as r—it
certainly makes the integrals easier! Please take note: r ≡ (r − r ), which is
not the same as r. I think it’s good notation, but it does have to be handled
with care.1

1 In MS Word, r is “Kaufmann font,” but this is very difficult to install in TeX. TeX users can download

xii a pretty good facsimile from my web site.

Preface xiii

z
Source point

dτ⬘
r Field point

r
r⬘
y

As in previous editions, I distinguish two kinds of problems. Some have a

specific pedagogical purpose, and should be worked immediately after reading
the section to which they pertain; these I have placed at the pertinent point within
the chapter. (In a few cases the solution to a problem is used later in the text;
these are indicated by a bullet (•) in the left margin.) Longer problems, or those
of a more general nature, will be found at the end of each chapter. When I teach
the subject, I assign some of these, and work a few of them in class. Unusually
challenging problems are flagged by an exclamation point (!) in the margin. Many
readers have asked that the answers to problems be provided at the back of the
book; unfortunately, just as many are strenuously opposed. I have compromised,
supplying answers when this seems particularly appropriate. A complete solution
manual is available (to instructors) from the publisher; go to the Pearson web site
to order a copy.
I have benefitted from the comments of many colleagues. I cannot list them
all here, but I would like to thank the following people for especially useful con-
tributions to this edition: Burton Brody (Bard), Catherine Crouch (Swarthmore),
Joel Franklin (Reed), Ted Jacobson (Maryland), Don Koks (Adelaide), Charles
Lane (Berry), Kirk McDonald2 (Princeton), Jim McTavish (Liverpool), Rich
Saenz (Cal Poly), Darrel Schroeter (Reed), Herschel Snodgrass (Lewis and
Clark), and Larry Tankersley (Naval Academy). Practically everything I know
about electrodynamics—certainly about teaching electrodynamics—I owe to
Edward Purcell.

David J. Griffiths

2 Kirk’sweb site, http://www.hep.princeton.edu/∼mcdonald/examples/, is a fantastic resource, with

clever explanations, nifty problems, and useful references.
 Advertisement

WHAT IS ELECTRODYNAMICS, AND HOW DOES IT FIT INTO THE

GENERAL SCHEME OF PHYSICS?

Four Realms of Mechanics

In the diagram below, I have sketched out the four great realms of mechanics:

Classical Mechanics Quantum Mechanics

(Newton) (Bohr, Heisenberg,
Schrödinger, et al.)
Special Relativity Quantum Field Theory
(Einstein) (Dirac, Pauli, Feynman,
Schwinger, et al.)

Newtonian mechanics is adequate for most purposes in “everyday life,” but for
objects moving at high speeds (near the speed of light) it is incorrect, and must
be replaced by special relativity (introduced by Einstein in 1905); for objects that
are extremely small (near the size of atoms) it fails for different reasons, and is
superseded by quantum mechanics (developed by Bohr, Schrödinger, Heisenberg,
and many others, in the 1920’s, mostly). For objects that are both very fast and
very small (as is common in modern particle physics), a mechanics that com-
bines relativity and quantum principles is in order; this relativistic quantum me-
chanics is known as quantum field theory—it was worked out in the thirties and
forties, but even today it cannot claim to be a completely satisfactory system.
In this book, save for the last chapter, we shall work exclusively in the domain
of classical mechanics, although electrodynamics extends with unique simplic-
ity to the other three realms. (In fact, the theory is in most respects automat-
ically consistent with special relativity, for which it was, historically, the main
stimulus.)

Four Kinds of Forces

Mechanics tells us how a system will behave when subjected to a given force.
There are just four basic forces known (presently) to physics: I list them in the
order of decreasing strength:

xiv
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1. Strong
2. Electromagnetic
3. Weak
4. Gravitational

The brevity of this list may surprise you. Where is friction? Where is the “normal”
force that keeps you from falling through the floor? Where are the chemical forces
that bind molecules together? Where is the force of impact between two colliding
billiard balls? The answer is that all these forces are electromagnetic. Indeed,
it is scarcely an exaggeration to say that we live in an electromagnetic world—
virtually every force we experience in everyday life, with the exception of gravity,
is electromagnetic in origin.
The strong forces, which hold protons and neutrons together in the atomic nu-
cleus, have extremely short range, so we do not “feel” them, in spite of the fact that
they are a hundred times more powerful than electrical forces. The weak forces,
which account for certain kinds of radioactive decay, are also of short range, and
they are far weaker than electromagnetic forces. As for gravity, it is so pitifully
feeble (compared to all of the others) that it is only by virtue of huge mass con-
centrations (like the earth and the sun) that we ever notice it at all. The electrical
repulsion between two electrons is 1042 times as large as their gravitational at-
traction, and if atoms were held together by gravitational (instead of electrical)
forces, a single hydrogen atom would be much larger than the known universe.
Not only are electromagnetic forces overwhelmingly dominant in everyday
life, they are also, at present, the only ones that are completely understood. There
is, of course, a classical theory of gravity (Newton’s law of universal gravitation)
and a relativistic one (Einstein’s general relativity), but no entirely satisfactory
quantum mechanical theory of gravity has been constructed (though many people
are working on it). At the present time there is a very successful (if cumbersome)
theory for the weak interactions, and a strikingly attractive candidate (called chro-
modynamics) for the strong interactions. All these theories draw their inspiration
from electrodynamics; none can claim conclusive experimental verification at this
stage. So electrodynamics, a beautifully complete and successful theory, has be-
come a kind of paradigm for physicists: an ideal model that other theories emulate.
The laws of classical electrodynamics were discovered in bits and pieces by
Franklin, Coulomb, Ampère, Faraday, and others, but the person who completed
the job, and packaged it all in the compact and consistent form it has today, was
James Clerk Maxwell. The theory is now about 150 years old.

The Unification of Physical Theories

In the beginning, electricity and magnetism were entirely separate subjects. The
one dealt with glass rods and cat’s fur, pith balls, batteries, currents, electrolysis,
and lightning; the other with bar magnets, iron filings, compass needles, and the
North Pole. But in 1820 Oersted noticed that an electric current could deflect
xvi Advertisement

a magnetic compass needle. Soon afterward, Ampère correctly postulated that

all magnetic phenomena are due to electric charges in motion. Then, in 1831,
Faraday discovered that a moving magnet generates an electric current. By the
time Maxwell and Lorentz put the finishing touches on the theory, electricity and
magnetism were inextricably intertwined. They could no longer be regarded as
separate subjects, but rather as two aspects of a single subject: electromagnetism.
Faraday speculated that light, too, is electrical in nature. Maxwell’s theory pro-
vided spectacular justification for this hypothesis, and soon optics—the study
of lenses, mirrors, prisms, interference, and diffraction—was incorporated into
electromagnetism. Hertz, who presented the decisive experimental confirmation
for Maxwell’s theory in 1888, put it this way: “The connection between light
and electricity is now established . . . In every flame, in every luminous parti-
cle, we see an electrical process . . . Thus, the domain of electricity extends over
the whole of nature. It even affects ourselves intimately: we perceive that we
possess . . . an electrical organ—the eye.” By 1900, then, three great branches of
physics–electricity, magnetism, and optics–had merged into a single unified the-
ory. (And it was soon apparent that visible light represents only a tiny “window”
in the vast spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, from radio through microwaves,
infrared and ultraviolet, to x-rays and gamma rays.)
Einstein dreamed of a further unification, which would combine gravity and
electrodynamics, in much the same way as electricity and magnetism had been
combined a century earlier. His unified field theory was not particularly success-
ful, but in recent years the same impulse has spawned a hierarchy of increasingly
ambitious (and speculative) unification schemes, beginning in the 1960s with the
electroweak theory of Glashow, Weinberg, and Salam (which joins the weak and
electromagnetic forces), and culminating in the 1980s with the superstring the-
ory (which, according to its proponents, incorporates all four forces in a single
“theory of everything”). At each step in this hierarchy, the mathematical difficul-
ties mount, and the gap between inspired conjecture and experimental test widens;
nevertheless, it is clear that the unification of forces initiated by electrodynamics
has become a major theme in the progress of physics.

The Field Formulation of Electrodynamics

The fundamental problem a theory of electromagnetism hopes to solve is this: I
hold up a bunch of electric charges here (and maybe shake them around); what
happens to some other charge, over there? The classical solution takes the form
of a field theory: We say that the space around an electric charge is permeated
by electric and magnetic fields (the electromagnetic “odor,” as it were, of the
charge). A second charge, in the presence of these fields, experiences a force; the
fields, then, transmit the influence from one charge to the other—they “mediate”
the interaction.
When a charge undergoes acceleration, a portion of the field “detaches” itself,
in a sense, and travels off at the speed of light, carrying with it energy, momen-
tum, and angular momentum. We call this electromagnetic radiation. Its exis-
Advertisement xvii

tence invites (if not compels) us to regard the fields as independent dynamical
entities in their own right, every bit as “real” as atoms or baseballs. Our interest
accordingly shifts from the study of forces between charges to the theory of the
fields themselves. But it takes a charge to produce an electromagnetic field, and it
takes another charge to detect one, so we had best begin by reviewing the essential
properties of electric charge.

Electric Charge
1. Charge comes in two varieties, which we call “plus” and “minus,” because
their effects tend to cancel (if you have +q and −q at the same point, electrically
it is the same as having no charge there at all). This may seem too obvious to
warrant comment, but I encourage you to contemplate other possibilities: what if
there were 8 or 10 different species of charge? (In chromodynamics there are, in
fact, three quantities analogous to electric charge, each of which may be positive
or negative.) Or what if the two kinds did not tend to cancel? The extraordinary
fact is that plus and minus charges occur in exactly equal amounts, to fantastic
precision, in bulk matter, so that their effects are almost completely neutralized.
Were it not for this, we would be subjected to enormous forces: a potato would
explode violently if the cancellation were imperfect by as little as one part in 1010 .

2. Charge is conserved: it cannot be created or destroyed—what there is now has

always been. (A plus charge can “annihilate” an equal minus charge, but a plus
charge cannot simply disappear by itself—something must pick up that electric
charge.) So the total charge of the universe is fixed for all time. This is called
global conservation of charge. Actually, I can say something much stronger:
Global conservation would allow for a charge to disappear in New York and
instantly reappear in San Francisco (that wouldn’t affect the total), and yet we
know this doesn’t happen. If the charge was in New York and it went to San Fran-
cisco, then it must have passed along some continuous path from one to the other.
This is called local conservation of charge. Later on we’ll see how to formulate a
precise mathematical law expressing local conservation of charge—it’s called the
continuity equation.

3. Charge is quantized. Although nothing in classical electrodynamics requires

that it be so, the fact is that electric charge comes only in discrete lumps—integer
multiples of the basic unit of charge. If we call the charge on the proton +e,
then the electron carries charge −e; the neutron charge zero; the pi mesons +e,
0, and −e; the carbon nucleus +6e; and so on (never 7.392e, or even 1/2e).3
This fundamental unit of charge is extremely small, so for practical purposes it
is usually appropriate to ignore quantization altogether. Water, too, “really” con-
sists of discrete lumps (molecules); yet, if we are dealing with reasonably large
3 Actually, protons and neutrons are composed of three quarks, which carry fractional charges (± 23 e
and ± 13 e). However, free quarks do not appear to exist in nature, and in any event, this does not alter
the fact that charge is quantized; it merely reduces the size of the basic unit.
xviii Advertisement

quantities of it we can treat it as a continuous fluid. This is in fact much closer to

Maxwell’s own view; he knew nothing of electrons and protons—he must have
pictured charge as a kind of “jelly” that could be divided up into portions of any
size and smeared out at will.

Units
The subject of electrodynamics is plagued by competing systems of units, which
sometimes render it difficult for physicists to communicate with one another. The
problem is far worse than in mechanics, where Neanderthals still speak of pounds
and feet; in mechanics, at least all equations look the same, regardless of the units
used to measure quantities. Newton’s second law remains F = ma, whether it is
feet-pounds-seconds, kilograms-meters-seconds, or whatever. But this is not so in
electromagnetism, where Coulomb’s law may appear variously as
q1 q2 1 q1 q2 1 q1 q2
F= r̂ (Gaussian), or F = r̂ (SI), or F = r̂ (HL).
r
2 4π 0 r 2 4π r2
Of the systems in common use, the two most popular are Gaussian (cgs) and SI
(mks). Elementary particle theorists favor yet a third system: Heaviside-Lorentz.
Although Gaussian units offer distinct theoretical advantages, most undergradu-
ate instructors seem to prefer SI, I suppose because they incorporate the familiar
household units (volts, amperes, and watts). In this book, therefore, I have used
SI units. Appendix C provides a “dictionary” for converting the main results into
Gaussian units.
CHAPTER

1 Vector Analysis

1.1 VECTOR ALGEBRA

1.1.1 Vector Operations

If you walk 4 miles due north and then 3 miles due east (Fig. 1.1), you will have
gone a total of 7 miles, but you’re not 7 miles from where you set out—you’re
only 5. We need an arithmetic to describe quantities like this, which evidently do
not add in the ordinary way. The reason they don’t, of course, is that displace-
ments (straight line segments going from one point to another) have direction
as well as magnitude (length), and it is essential to take both into account when
you combine them. Such objects are called vectors: velocity, acceleration, force
and momentum are other examples. By contrast, quantities that have magnitude
but no direction are called scalars: examples include mass, charge, density, and
temperature.
I shall use boldface (A, B, and so on) for vectors and ordinary type for scalars.
The magnitude of a vector A is written |A| or, more simply, A. In diagrams, vec-
tors are denoted by arrows: the length of the arrow is proportional to the magni-
tude of the vector, and the arrowhead indicates its direction. Minus A (−A) is a
vector with the same magnitude as A but of opposite direction (Fig. 1.2). Note that
vectors have magnitude and direction but not location: a displacement of 4 miles
due north from Washington is represented by the same vector as a displacement 4
miles north from Baltimore (neglecting, of course, the curvature of the earth). On
a diagram, therefore, you can slide the arrow around at will, as long as you don’t
change its length or direction.
We define four vector operations: addition and three kinds of multiplication.

3 mi

4
mi 5 mi
A −A

FIGURE 1.1 FIGURE 1.2

1
2 Chapter 1 Vector Analysis

B −B

A (A+B) (B+A) A (A−B) A

FIGURE 1.3 FIGURE 1.4

(i) Addition of two vectors. Place the tail of B at the head of A; the sum,
A + B, is the vector from the tail of A to the head of B (Fig. 1.3). (This rule
generalizes the obvious procedure for combining two displacements.) Addition is
commutative:
A + B = B + A;
3 miles east followed by 4 miles north gets you to the same place as 4 miles north
followed by 3 miles east. Addition is also associative:
(A + B) + C = A + (B + C).
To subtract a vector, add its opposite (Fig. 1.4):
A − B = A + (−B).
(ii) Multiplication by a scalar. Multiplication of a vector by a positive scalar
a multiplies the magnitude but leaves the direction unchanged (Fig. 1.5). (If a is
negative, the direction is reversed.) Scalar multiplication is distributive:
a(A + B) = aA + aB.
(iii) Dot product of two vectors. The dot product of two vectors is defined by
A · B ≡ AB cos θ, (1.1)
where θ is the angle they form when placed tail-to-tail (Fig. 1.6). Note that A · B
is itself a scalar (hence the alternative name scalar product). The dot product is
commutative,
A · B = B · A,
and distributive,
A · (B + C) = A · B + A · C. (1.2)
Geometrically, A · B is the product of A times the projection of B along A (or
the product of B times the projection of A along B). If the two vectors are parallel,
then A · B = AB. In particular, for any vector A,
A · A = A2 . (1.3)
If A and B are perpendicular, then A · B = 0.
1.1 Vector Algebra 3

2A
A

A θ
B

FIGURE 1.5 FIGURE 1.6

Example 1.1. Let C = A − B (Fig. 1.7), and calculate the dot product of C with
itself.
Solution

C · C = (A − B) · (A − B) = A · A − A · B − B · A + B · B,

or

C 2 = A2 + B 2 − 2AB cos θ.

This is the law of cosines.

(iv) Cross product of two vectors. The cross product of two vectors is de-
fined by

A × B ≡ AB sin θ n̂, (1.4)

where n̂ is a unit vector (vector of magnitude 1) pointing perpendicular to the

plane of A and B. (I shall use a hat ( ˆ ) to denote unit vectors.) Of course, there
are two directions perpendicular to any plane: “in” and “out.” The ambiguity is
resolved by the right-hand rule: let your fingers point in the direction of the first
vector and curl around (via the smaller angle) toward the second; then your thumb
indicates the direction of n̂. (In Fig. 1.8, A × B points into the page; B × A points
out of the page.) Note that A × B is itself a vector (hence the alternative name
vector product). The cross product is distributive,

A × (B + C) = (A × B) + (A × C), (1.5)

but not commutative. In fact,

(B × A) = −(A × B). (1.6)

4 Chapter 1 Vector Analysis

A C A

θ θ
B B

FIGURE 1.7 FIGURE 1.8

Geometrically, |A × B| is the area of the parallelogram generated by A and B

(Fig. 1.8). If two vectors are parallel, their cross product is zero. In particular,

A×A=0

for any vector A. (Here 0 is the zero vector, with magnitude 0.)

Problem 1.1 Using the definitions in Eqs. 1.1 and 1.4, and appropriate diagrams,
show that the dot product and cross product are distributive,
a) when the three vectors are coplanar;
! b) in the general case.

Problem 1.2 Is the cross product associative?

?
(A × B) × C = A × (B × C).

If so, prove it; if not, provide a counterexample (the simpler the better).

1.1.2 Vector Algebra: Component Form

In the previous section, I defined the four vector operations (addition, scalar mul-
tiplication, dot product, and cross product) in “abstract” form—that is, without
reference to any particular coordinate system. In practice, it is often easier to set
up Cartesian coordinates x, y, z and work with vector components. Let x̂, ŷ, and
ẑ be unit vectors parallel to the x, y, and z axes, respectively (Fig. 1.9(a)). An
arbitrary vector A can be expanded in terms of these basis vectors (Fig. 1.9(b)):

z z

A
z Azz
x Ax x
y y y

x (a) x Ayy (b)

FIGURE 1.9
1.1 Vector Algebra 5

A = A x x̂ + A y ŷ + A z ẑ.

The numbers A x , A y , and A z , are the “components” of A; geometrically, they

are the projections of A along the three coordinate axes (A x = A · x̂, A y = A · ŷ,
A z = A · ẑ). We can now reformulate each of the four vector operations as a rule
for manipulating components:

A + B = (A x x̂ + A y ŷ + A z ẑ) + (Bx x̂ + B y ŷ + Bz ẑ)

= (A x + Bx )x̂ + (A y + B y )ŷ + (A z + Bz )ẑ. (1.7)

Rule (i): To add vectors, add like components.

aA = (a A x )x̂ + (a A y )ŷ + (a A z )ẑ. (1.8)

Rule (ii): To multiply by a scalar, multiply each component.

Because x̂, ŷ, and ẑ are mutually perpendicular unit vectors,

x̂ · x̂ = ŷ · ŷ = ẑ · ẑ = 1; x̂ · ŷ = x̂ · ẑ = ŷ · ẑ = 0. (1.9)

Accordingly,

A · B = (A x x̂ + A y ŷ + A z ẑ) · (Bx x̂ + B y ŷ + Bz ẑ)

= A x B x + A y B y + A z Bz . (1.10)

Rule (iii): To calculate the dot product, multiply like components, and add.
In particular,

A · A = A2x + A2y + A2z ,

so

A= A2x + A2y + A2z . (1.11)

(This is, if you like, the three-dimensional generalization of the Pythagorean

theorem.)
Similarly,1
x̂ × x̂ = ŷ × ŷ = ẑ × ẑ = 0,
x̂ × ŷ = −ŷ × x̂ = ẑ,
ŷ × ẑ = −ẑ × ŷ = x̂,
ẑ × x̂ = −x̂ × ẑ = ŷ. (1.12)
1 These signs pertain to a right-handed coordinate system (x-axis out of the page, y-axis to the right,
z-axis up, or any rotated version thereof). In a left-handed system (z-axis down), the signs would be
reversed: x̂ × ŷ = −ẑ, and so on. We shall use right-handed systems exclusively.
6 Chapter 1 Vector Analysis

Therefore,
A × B = (A x x̂ + A y ŷ + A z ẑ) × (Bx x̂ + B y ŷ + Bz ẑ) (1.13)
= (A y Bz − A z B y )x̂ + (A z Bx − A x Bz )ŷ + (A x B y − A y Bx )ẑ.
This cumbersome expression can be written more neatly as a determinant:
 
 x̂ ŷ ẑ 

A × B =  A x A y A z  . (1.14)
 B x B y Bz 

Rule (iv): To calculate the cross product, form the determinant whose first row
is x̂, ŷ, ẑ, whose second row is A (in component form), and whose third row is B.

Example 1.2. Find the angle between the face diagonals of a cube.
Solution
We might as well use a cube of side 1, and place it as shown in Fig. 1.10, with
one corner at the origin. The face diagonals A and B are
A = 1 x̂ + 0 ŷ + 1 ẑ; B = 0 x̂ + 1 ŷ + 1 ẑ.

z
(0, 0, 1)
B

θ
A (0, 1, 0)
y

x (1, 0, 0)

FIGURE 1.10

So, in component form,

A · B = 1 · 0 + 0 · 1 + 1 · 1 = 1.
On the other hand, in “abstract” form,
√ √
A · B = AB cos θ = 2 2 cos θ = 2 cos θ.
Therefore,
cos θ = 1/2, or θ = 60◦ .
Of course, you can get the answer more easily by drawing in a diagonal across
the top of the cube, completing the equilateral triangle. But in cases where the
geometry is not so simple, this device of comparing the abstract and component
forms of the dot product can be a very efficient means of finding angles.
Discovering Diverse Content Through
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 After they had eaten all they desired, they laid themselves down
and fell into a refreshing sleep, which even their fear of cannibals
could not disturb. When they awoke, the stars were shining.
They first ate some of the bananas, and then discussed the route
they should take. It did not take them long to decide that the safest
plan, as well as the most direct road, would be to keep along the
beach as much as was possible, climbing or skirting any cliffs that
might interpose themselves.
With this plan in view, they made their way back around the cliff,
but reached the other side of it only to discover that it was as
crowded now as it had been deserted during the day, the natives
being scattered along it for a long distance—some of them gathered
around fires, at which something was evidently cooking, and which
they at once, with a horrible fear, fancied the worst of.
They hastened back as they had come, and decided without loss
of time to strike into the woods and go back a mile or more, and
then take an easterly course, which would bring them into a nearly
parallel line with the beach.
“I remember, now,” said Diego, “that the villages of these Indians
are always near enough to the beach to enable them to get to it.”
“Yes,” said Juan. “It is either so, or far back in the interior.”
But in this they were wrong, and, so far as it concerned the
island of Bohio, or Haiti, as it really was called, they discovered their
mistake ere very long. They retraced their steps in the wood until
they came to where they had slept, and made a fresh departure
from there. They had not gone two miles, however, before they
almost stumbled into a small village.
Greatly dismayed, they made a careful detour and passed the
village; but they were so fearful of coming upon other villages that
they proceeded now much more cautiously. Even that did not help
them greatly, however, for after another two miles, perhaps, they
came upon a very large village, and in endeavoring to go around this
they became hopelessly lost.
 If they could have seen the heavens, they could have gained
their bearings by the stars; but the woods were too dense for that,
and they would have been obliged to stop and wait for daylight if
Juan had not pointed out that they were certainly going up hill,
which would indicate that they were going south, since the hills, as
they had noticed from the canoe, ran east and west.
“Then let us keep on going up,” said Diego, “and perhaps we can
find a lookout to-morrow on the top of the mountains, and select a
safer course.”
The advice was certainly good, and it was not difficult to follow,
particularly as they fell in with no more villages. So they kept on,
always climbing, and occasionally, now, gaining a sight of the stars;
though the forest remained dense as far as they went.
How far they went they had no means of knowing; for even the
time spent or the fatigue incurred was no criterion; for while they
were quite certain that they must have been six hours on foot, they
had wandered so much from a direct path that it was quite possible
they might have gone but a very short distance; and they had been
tired from the start.
As well as they could in the darkness, they selected a sheltered
spot to sleep in, and laid themselves down to rest. They fortunately
had no need to think of snakes or of other dangerous reptiles or
beasts; for the only really unpleasant creatures on the islands were
scorpions, centipedes, and tarantulas, which were not feared by the
natives, and in consequence the voyagers also had learned to hold
them in little fear.
In the shaded woods the morning sun had no opportunity to
awaken the boys until they were ready to open their eyes, and so
the day was well advanced before they roused themselves.
“Ah-h-h!” yawned Diego, comfortably, “I am ready for breakfast,
aren’t you?”
“Sh-sh!” said Juan, and pointed through the trees.
Behind Diego, not more than a hundred yards distant, was an
opening, a sort of level plateau on the mountain-side, and straggling
along the side nearest the boys was a village of possibly two
hundred huts. Under the shade of the trees nearest the huts were
hammocks, in which the men lazily swung, while the women worked
leisurely at their light tasks. Children played about everywhere.
Nowhere had the boys seen comelier or pleasanter-looking
women; but nowhere had they seen more forbidding-looking men.
Their foreheads sloped back abruptly from their eyebrows, and their
faces were hideously streaked with paint. Moreover, they were taller
and more muscular in appearance than the other Indians they had
seen. At least the few men they saw moving about were; and
altogether the boys were satisfied that the men, at least, looked the
cannibals they were reputed to be.
They did not stop for any extended examination of the
inhabitants; but stole away from the village, going higher up the
mountain, as taking them in the direction they wished to go, and as
promising to carry them farthest away from the village.
When they had gone a sufficient distance for safety, they sought
a banana-tree and plucked a quantity of the fruit and ate it. It was
not what they would have eaten had they had the courage to make
a fire to cook by; for they could have had potatoes or yuca-root; but
they did not dare do that, and so they had to be content with
bananas.
The mountain by this time had begun to run bare of forest trees,
and to become steeper, and it was not long after that the boys found
themselves free of the woods altogether, with a patch ahead of them
of bare rugged rocks. It seemed quite improbable that any village
would be in such a spot, and they felt safe to cross the open space
and climb to the highest of the rocks, in order to obtain a view of
the ocean.
They had supposed, from the edge of the woods, that these
rocks were on the top of the mountain, but when they reached
them, they discovered that the mountain-top was many feet above
them still, and separated from them by a wooded valley. They
obtained from the rocks the view they desired, however, and almost
due northeast from where they stood they could see running to the
water the mountains which they believed were the ones they were
seeking.
“I am sure of it,” said Juan, making a mental calculation of how
far they had drifted and in what direction.
“Look!” said Diego, in a choking voice.
Juan followed his finger and saw a sail—the Pinta was returning
to find them.
“We must hurry,” said Diego.
“How far do you think it is?” asked Juan. “Six or seven leagues?”
“Seven, I should say,” answered Diego. “Everything looks nearer
in this country. Let us calculate. The Pinta will reach there in, say,
three hours. She will surely remain as many more. Oh, yes, she will
remain several hours. Why not?”
He was thinking that even if they walked openly through the
country, and at their best speed, they could not hope to reach the
place in less than ten hours, allowing for losing their way. Juan
understood him.
“Never mind,” he said. “Let us start, and we may be able to go a
long distance on the mountain-top without seeing a soul. Come! The
sight of the ship makes me stronger. How glad they will be to see
us!”
“Will they not?”
“Tell me, Diego,” said Juan, “I have been wishing to ask you and
did not dare; did Miguel knock you off the yard?”
“No. Why do you ask?”
“Because when I saw you falling I saw him with his arm
upraised, as if he either had struck you or intended to.”
“I think he tried to help me,” said Diego; “but I don’t know.”
“If the men knew he was on the yard with you, and they will be
certain to, I am afraid it will fare ill with him. Come, let us hurry!”
 “‘LOOK!’ SAID DIEGO.”

So they hastened down from their height, and struck into what
seemed very much like a travelway, it was so easy to pass along.
And yet it had no appearance of being anything but natural, and so
they had no suspicion of it. At first the slope was slightly downward,
but kept all the time in the open, rocky space. Then it entered a
wooded tract and led them to a pretty mountain stream.
They were tired, bananas offered themselves, and the water
sounded so inviting either to drink or to bathe in that they could not
resist.
“Let us bathe and eat before we go farther,” suggested Diego,
and they did so.
Diego, who was somewhat more particular in the matter of
cleanliness than the other sailors, always carried his comb in his
pocket, and so he and Juan made their toilet to the extent of
smoothing their hair; and then, very much refreshed, they got up
and pushed on again.
The woods were evidently only the result of the brook bringing
moisture and soil to the rocky tract; for in a little while the
depression ceased, and they emerged once more into the same
rocky belt.
“Hark!” said Diego of a sudden. “Do you hear any noise?”
“The sound of drums, or something of the sort? yes.”
They stopped and listened, and the noise grew distinctly in
volume.
“It is coming nearer,” cried Diego in alarm. “And I hear voices
singing, or howling. It’s behind us. Juan! What shall we do? Hide!
yes, that is it; hide!”
They looked all about them for a proper place, and Diego noticed
a narrow cleft in the rocks higher up to his right.
“Up here!” he whispered, and ran with all his speed followed
close by Juan.
They were soon there, and the cleft proved to be a narrow, cave-
like opening the depth of which the boys could not determine, nor
did they try to discover; for all that interested them was the fact that
it offered a good place of concealment for them.
At the same time it afforded them a good view of the country
they had been traversing, and promised to enable them to see the
new-comers without difficulty. And it fulfilled its promise in a very
few minutes, giving the boys a sight of a most extraordinary and
startling spectacle.
From out of the wood, not far from where they had just come,
there emerged a fantastic procession, which moved with a rapidity
that was really remarkable in view of the numbers of which it was
composed.
 “THE CLEFT PROVED TO BE A NARROW, CAVE-LIKE
OPENING.”

At the head of it came a man beating a sort of drum and moving

at a rapid pace. Behind him were perhaps twenty men, all beating
drums and chanting at the same time that they performed all sorts
of singular antics, though without interfering with the rapid advance
of the procession. Behind them again came hundreds of girls,
dancing and singing in time with each other; and behind them came
hundreds more of men and women, also singing and dancing with
the greatest fervor.
It was some time before the boys could see all of this strange
procession—strange in itself and stranger still for the place it was in.
Their first thought, and the one they clung to, was that it was some
horrible festival which would end in a cannibal orgy in the manner
that had been described to Diego by the natives from whom he had
learned to speak the Indian tongue.
They watched it with a sort of fascinated abhorrence, and in their
thoughts were deciding how they would escape it by climbing higher
up the mountain. Nearer and nearer it came along the way they had
come. Nearer and nearer to where they had turned to seek their
hiding-place. It was there.
“Juan,” gasped Diego, “it is coming up the mountain!”
By it he meant the procession; and it certainly had turned up
almost in the very footsteps of the boys. They shrank back, but still
watching the coming crowds, which, now at the ascent, had ceased
to dance, though the singing and drum-beating continued.
And as they came nearer, the boys all the while wondering what
their errand could be, it was easy to see that the man who led was a
personage of importance; for he was covered with ornaments of
gold, and wore a coronet of the same metal, with a head-dress of
feathers rising above it. The men who followed him were
ornamented in quite another way, being tattooed all over the body
with grotesque figures.
The girls, who came next, carried baskets of fruit and flowers,
and were decked out with gold and other ornaments. The men and
women farther down the line were loaded with as much as they
could carry in the way of finery, but carried neither fruit nor flowers.
All of this the boys could see because they did not dare to stir
and were protected from observation by the shrubs that grew about
the opening where they had taken shelter. Their hearts were in their
mouths for fear of discovery, and they crouched side by side, very
unwilling spectators of the scene that followed, and yet interested.
The leading person, whom the boys took to be either a high-
priest or a cacique, approached within twenty yards of the boys and
stood there until an attendant hurried up with a stool of a dark
polished wood, and placed it conveniently for him to sit, he
meanwhile never ceasing to beat his drum.
After he was seated, still beating his drum, the young girls with
their baskets gathered near, and the others drew up in a wider
circle, until all were up the mountain. Then the priests made
obeisance to the sitting man and delivered a sort of address,
pointing so often directly at the place where the boys were that
Diego, who had strained his ears to hear, caught Juan and dragged
him back.
“Juan, Juan!” he whispered, convulsively, “they are coming in
here. It must be a sort of cave. Let us run back into it.”
 Chapter XXIV.
As swiftly as they dared, the two boys ran back in the cave,
which proved to be about fifty yards deep; and when they reached
the other end they discovered, to their dismay, that it was not as
gloomy as they had at first supposed on looking into it after gazing
out into the bright sunlight.
Besides the light which came in at the entrance, more was
admitted through an opening in the roof, so that, when they stood at
the back and looked fearfully around them, they could see
everything quite distinctly. The cave was far more like a hall cut in
the rock than like a natural cave. It was fully fifty yards in height,
but was comparatively narrow, and the walls were covered with
figures carved in the stone, and images, like idols, were set in
niches.
Part of this the boys saw at the time, and part afterwards. At that
moment they only noted such things as seemed to have some
bearing on their situation, and were too anxious to look about them
with any idle curiosity.
“It must be a temple,” said Diego, “and the savages have come
to worship. If we could only hide somewhere.”
But look as they would they could see no place where they could
conceal themselves, and there was nothing for them to do but to
stand quite still, flattened against the wall, as much in the shadow
as possible. It was so hopeless, however, that both drew their
sheath knives, and waited with such terror as neither had ever
known before.
 There was more delay than they had anticipated in the entrance
of the men, but it was explained when, in a few minutes, they
entered the cavern holding lighted torches. The tattooed men came
first, and immediately upon entering set up such a howling as made
the echoes of the place beat against each other until the din was
little less than deafening.
After the tattooed men came the young girls with the baskets,
delivering the latter to the howling men, and then going in
procession towards the end where the terrified boys stood. It was
inevitable that discovery of them should ensue, and it did.
The girls came on whispering to each other, and unconscious of
the boys until they were almost upon them, when they stared full
into the white faces that were so unlike anything they had ever seen
before. The frightened girls stopped, pressed back, and then turned
and fled with loud screams.
“The men will come now,” said Juan, huskily.
“They shall never take me alive,” said Diego.
It was not for some time that the tattooed men could be made to
comprehend that something had frightened the girls that was worthy
of their attention; but after hearing such explanations as the girls
could make, they caught up some of the torches and advanced in a
body, holding the torches over their heads and peering before them.
Their astonishment, their fright perhaps, was hardly less than
that of the girls, for they could see not merely the strange, white
faces, but the singular clothing and the glittering knife-blades. They
spoke to each other in quick, jerky sentences, and advanced with
the utmost caution until they were within ten yards of the boys.
They stared in silence, as they stood there, and the boys stared
back. Then one of the men, seeming to pluck up courage to speak,
addressed a question to the boys.
“What does he say?” whispered Juan.
“I don’t understand all the words,” answered Diego, “but I think
he wants to know who we are. From the way he asks he seems to
think we are gods.”
“CAUGHT UP SOME OF THE TORCHES AND ADVANCED
IN A BODY.”

“Perhaps,” said Juan, “if we can make them think so they won’t—
won’t—” he was going to say “eat us,” but changed it to “hurt us.”
Diego had thought of the same thing. The other Indians had
readily believed, without any suggestion from the voyagers, that
they were from the skies. Why should not these? He spoke to them
in the tongue he knew.
“We are from the skies. We will not do you any harm if you do
not molest us.”
The men listened attentively, and the boys could see the cave
beyond them crowded full to the very entrance. When Diego had
ceased to speak, the men consulted among themselves in a puzzled
way, as if trying to make out the full sense of what they had heard.
Then they drew nearer and approached until they were within
arm’s-length of the boys, who watched them uneasily, but without
knowing how to act; for the actions of the men were not merely
pacific, but even conciliatory. Diego drew a long breath and
whispered to Juan:
“I think we’d better act as if we were not afraid.”
It was more easily suggested than accomplished, but it was so
plainly the only thing to do, and the men were so mild in their
manner, that Diego gained courage to act upon a sudden inspiration.
He took a hawk’s bell from his pocket and, jingling it, gave it to the
man nearest him.
The effect upon him and upon all those who heard the tinkling
sound was magical. They stared with wonder and delight, not
unmixed with awe, and crowded about the man who had taken it,
and listened enraptured while he shook it to produce the noise.
From that it was but a short step to getting closer to the boys
and touching their faces with gentle hands, feeling of their clothing,
and exclaiming with wonder. And Diego could make out that the
tattooed men were explaining to the girls that the bell was from the
skies, and that the boys had come down to do them good.
Meanwhile the news of what had happened, no doubt with
extraordinary exaggerations, had travelled back through the hall,
and had found its way to the cacique outside. He became impatient,
and voices were heard shouting something from the entrance, which
had the effect of clearing the hall.
The tattooed men thereupon made unmistakable signs,
accompanied by words which Diego could understand, inviting them
to go into the open air with them. As there was nothing to do but to
accept the invitation, the boys did it with what grace they could, and
were presently in the centre of a wondering crowd of men and
women, who were staring at them with even greater surprise than
had been accorded them in the hall, where the fairness of their skins
had not been so apparent.
The cacique, as in fact he turned out to be, questioned the boys,
and Diego answered as well as he could; though neither more than
half understood the other. The chief thing to the boys, however, was
that, in spite of the hideous faces of the men, there was not evinced
the slightest disposition to do them any harm; but, on the contrary,
these supposed cannibals were as mild and friendly as any of the
natives they had yet seen.
Indeed, the cacique was the very reverse of fierce; and when the
bell was handed him for his examination, he immediately began
shaking it, and presently was dancing with great activity to its music,
to the evident admiration of his subjects. This seemed to Diego a
good opportunity to present another bell, so he took one from his
pocket and thrust it into the empty hand of the cacique as he
jumped about, and the savage was so stimulated by the gift that he
whirled faster and faster, singing all the time, until he sank
exhausted on the ground.
This was very edifying to the cacique’s subjects, and equally
pleasant to the boys, for they had had enough experience with the
Indians to know that they intended no harm to them.
 Chapter XXV.
Being relieved of immediate fear, though still uneasy for the
future, the boys endeavored to make the Indians understand that
they wished to go to the mountain range to the northeast, visible
from where they stood. And, at Juan’s suggestion, Diego persuaded
the tattooed men, afterwards discovered to be priests, or Butios, to
climb higher up to where a better view of the ocean was visible.
There he searched the horizon, and to his joy saw the Pinta still
making her way to the rocky headland, her full spread of sail giving
her the appearance of a monstrous bird. Diego pointed her out to
the Butios, and told them it was on her that he and Juan had come
out of the sky.
This was evidently a satisfactory and gratifying proof of the origin
of their visitors, and presently the cacique was assisted up the
mountain-side, that he, too, might look on the marvel, and after that
the whole assemblage came up, and felt themselves blessed with
the extraordinary sight.
Then Diego explained that he and Juan must go down to the
beach and wait for the coming of the ship, and promised the Butios
great quantities of bells and beads if they would take them thither.
And, to give emphasis to his words, he and Juan showed in their
hands the beads and bells they had with them.
Well, the Butios marvelled, and showed in many ways that they
fully comprehended the meaning of Diego’s words and gestures, and
that it would fill them with great joy to have more of the bells,
together with some of the beads; but they also made it plain that
they were not at all disposed to part with their heavenly visitors. And
they gave Diego to understand that, much as it grieved them to
cross their cherished visitors, they yet could not help but take them
with them to the interior of the island, pointing to the southeast as
they spoke.
“We’ll have to go,” said Diego. “I don’t believe they will hurt us at
all, and we will be safe enough. From what I can make out, this
cacique is only an inferior one, and he would not dare to let us go
without showing us to his superior, whom they call Caonabo. And
they talk of Cibao, which I think must be the Zipangu of which the
admiral has said so much, for you can see what quantities of gold
these people have.”
“But if we go,” said Juan, “we shall lose the ship.”
“Well,” said Diego, “we have no choice but to go. What I meant,
however, was this: Let us pretend to go willingly, and so put them
off their guard until we can find the opportunity to slip away.”
“That is it,” said Juan, “and while we are with them we can
exchange our bells and beads for gold, and so return to the ship
loaded with it.”
It was the best plan they could devise, and worked better than
well, so far as the exchange of their bells for gold was concerned;
for when Diego took up some of the gold ornaments of the men and
showed his interest in them, they were offered to him with a
generous willingness that asked for no return.
Neither he nor Juan would take advantage of the generosity,
however, but gave in return the glass beads which they had. They
would have given them all away had not the cacique interposed,
making them understand that he wished some saved for the cacique
Caonabo, and telling them that if gold was desired by them they had
only to wait to obtain all they could wish.
The boys would have preferred to get their booty at once, but
yielded, thinking that what they had was enough to make them rich.
How they wished they could communicate with Martin Alonzo, and
let him know that they had at last discovered that Zipangu, the land
of gold, for which they had sought so long and at last so hopelessly!
That was not to be just yet, however, for the cacique gave orders
for a return, not merely down the mountain, as it turned out, but to
the place they had come from, putting the boys in the especial care
of the Butios, who proved a faithful guard over them, and watched
them jealously. Not, as it seemed, that they feared an escape, but
that they held them so precious.
As soon as the boys settled to the conviction that escape at
present was quite out of the question, they remembered that they
were hungry, and conveyed that information to the Butios, who no
sooner understood it than they called a halt, and procured them not
only cakes of maize flour and roasted yuca, but brought them for
drink small calabashes of a sort of liquid which they called cocoa,
and which the boys found very refreshing.
After that they went on again, and in the woods where the boys
had bathed, they stopped long enough to procure litters for the boys
and for the cacique, and in these the journey was continued.
At first they returned along the way the boys had just come; but
in a little while they turned to the south and crossed the mountains
by an easy pass, and presently could look down on a beautiful and
fertile valley. For half a day’s journey the whole party went together;
but coming then to a village of considerable size, a stop was made
and the party separated, scattering to their homes.
After that the progress they made was swifter, the party
consisting only of the cacique, ten of the Butios, and a body-guard
of twenty warriors, armed with war-clubs and long, heavy swords of
some hard, polished wood, showing that, however gentle the men
might be with their visitors, they had it in their natures to fight if
there were occasion, differing in this from the other Indians the boys
had seen.
For several days they travelled, their fame preceding them and
causing their progress through the valley to be a sort of triumphal
march. At each village they were respectfully shown to the
wondering inhabitants, and the cacique occasionally favored the
other caciques with a dance to the music of the bells. And at each
village it seemed to be known that the visitors desired gold, for there
was always awaiting them either rings, bracelets, or what they
learned to prefer, nuggets of virgin gold. The nuggets were of
various sizes, the largest being two of the size of a hen’s egg, each.
Diego and Juan gave a bell to each cacique as they went along,
and it was manifest that the cacique considered himself very much
favored and overpaid in receiving such a treasure for his paltry gold.
And it was also plain that the Butios grudged each bell given away;
not apparently from any lack of generosity, but because they disliked
to see the favors of heaven made so common.
As the days passed and Diego became more familiar with the
language, he was enabled to relieve his mind on the one subject of
their greatest uneasiness. He discovered, without being obliged to
ask the unpleasant question, that the natives were not cannibals,
and that they detested their Carib neighbors as much as any one
could.
The relief it was to the boys to learn this can hardly be imagined;
for it had not failed to cross their minds that they were being most
remarkably well fed and cared for, and that naturally suggested the
notion of being fattened for a purpose.
There still remained the uneasiness about the ship; but although
they had done all they could to make an opportunity to escape, they
had not yet succeeded. They would have lost trace of the passage of
time, had not Diego thought of making a notch on a stick with his
knife to mark each day.
The knives, by the way, were objects of great curiosity to the
Indians, who had never seen iron in any of its forms before, and
who marvelled greatly at the keenness of the blades. One of the
warriors of their guard wished to test the properties of the blade by
running it across his fingers; but Diego prevented him and displayed
the sharpness of the edge by slicing a banana in thin sections.
Instead of curing the man of his desire, however, it seemed to make
him only more eager for his own test, and Diego, shrugging his
shoulders, let him suit himself. Of course the knife cut his fingers,
but, so far from being distressed by it, the simple fellow seemed to
feel that he was to be envied; and so it appeared did the others, for
they would all have cut themselves had the boys been willing to
permit them to do so.
It was not until the tenth day after starting on the journey that
they reached the village of the grand cacique, Caonabo. The boys
were curious to see a chief of whom they had heard so much during
their progress through his dominions, and they certainly were
impressed by the fact that instead of going out to meet them with
his warriors, as the other caciques had done, he merely sent a
deputation to meet them and conduct them to him.
The village was a large one and very populous, though not a whit
more civilized in appearance than any of the other villages, so that
the boys could not help wondering if the stories about Zipangu had
not been exaggerated by the travellers who had been there.
Certainly there was gold enough; but the palace was not roofed with
it, and if it had been—the palace being a mere hut—it would not
have come to much.
The population was all out to gaze on the wonderful beings from
the skies, and they wore a great quantity of gold on their otherwise
naked bodies; but such was their respect for their cacique that none
of them dared make any advances to the strangers until they had
had an audience with him.
“I begin to be a little afraid of this Caonabo, of whom his own
people stand in such awe,” said Diego.
 “OF COURSE THE KNIFE CUT HIS FINGERS.”

“And I also,” said Juan; “but here we are, and we shall soon
know what he thinks of us. I hope he will think well enough of us to
do us no harm, but not well enough of us to keep us.”
 Chapter XXVI.
Caonabo, Cacique of Maguana, differed so strikingly in his
appearance and manner from his subjects that the boys were struck
by it at their first glance at him. He was not only larger and more
muscular, but he bore himself with a hauteur and dignity that any
Old World monarch might have envied.
He eyed the boys with wonder, it is true, but there was
something in his manner that made Diego mutter to Juan:
“I’m afraid he won’t accept the story of our descent from the
skies.”
“And he looks fierce enough for a cannibal,” said Juan.
They afterwards learned that Caonabo was, in fact, a Carib and a
cannibal, who had come to the island from his own home, when he
was a young man, and who had won his place as the most powerful
and most feared of the island caciques by his courage and his
sagacity.
He was kind enough to them, though, as Diego had said, he did
not act with any such awe of them as the other caciques had done.
He asked questions, which Diego answered as well as he could, and
he examined curiously their clothing, knives, and bells.
“I think from his looks,” said Diego to Juan, “that he would give
more for the knives than for all the bells in the world.”
And that was undoubtedly true; but he did not say so, and was
as scrupulously honest as the meanest of his subjects had been.
Honesty, indeed, next to hospitality, was the virtue held in highest
esteem among these islanders. Theft was so heinous an offence that
it was punished by death.
It seemed to strike Caonabo as a singular thing that his guests
should care so much for gold; though, indeed, the boys had found it
so easy to possess that it no longer had any charms for them, and if
they had not hoped to rejoin the ship, they would not have taken
two steps to procure a ton of the yellow metal. It seems so true that
a thing is valued only in proportion as it is desired by others.
However, Caonabo had no objection to having the boys procure
all the gold they desired, and he would not permit them to give their
bells for it; though he afterwards accepted the bells which were
offered him, when Diego made him understand that they were a gift.
What Caonabo coveted was one of the knives. He took one in his
hand, and tested the blade on a piece of wood; and when Diego
showed him how it could be used to pierce with, he buried it in a
calabash which lay near him with such an air of its being alive that
Diego procured the knife back, and would not again part with it.
“If we are going to run away,” said Diego, “I would prefer that he
should not have that to try on me.”
Running away, however, seemed every day less feasible. The
boys had been provided with a hut, and Butios had been assigned to
them to see that they lacked no comforts, and every measure had
been taken as if it were the fixed design of Caonabo to keep them
with him.
He had sent the cacique, who had first discovered the boys, back
to his own country, and the Butios had gone with him, very much to
their disgust at being obliged to part with their treasure; though the
boys had consoled them by giving each Butio a bell.
Finding their lives to be in no danger whatever, the boys made all
the preparations for flight that they very well could. Diego, on the
plea of seeing where the gold was procured, was taken, in different
directions, from the village to the rivers where the gold lay in grains
and tiny nuggets at the bottom. He was glad to see the gold, but
what he cared most for was the acquaintance he and Juan gained of
the surrounding country. Moreover, he asked questions of different
persons until he had learned that the sea lay about equidistant from
them on either side of the island. And from one old man, who had
journeyed much, he learned that, in a lovely valley to the north of
them, on either side of the Cibao Mountains, a beautiful river ran
down to the sea, and entered it at the foot of the mountain-chain
that lay parallel to the Cibao Mountains.
Then, there was the matter of the gold. It was valueless to them
now that they had it heaped in an ignominious pile in a corner of the
hut; but they knew it would regain its value when it was on the ship,
and so they questioned themselves what to do about it.
After going over the matter a great many times, they determined
to make a belt each, of the skin of a little animal called the coati, in
which to put as many nuggets as they could. No one suspected their
object in fastening the gold to the belts, the generally received
opinion being that it was a sort of religious ceremony.
They had no idea of the value in Spanish coin of the pile of gold
they had collected; but when their belts were finished, they found
them to weigh, each, not less than twenty pounds. They tried them
on, and felt so dubious of the comfort of such heavy belts that they
were tempted to throw off some of the weight; but Juan suggested
that they could throw the gold away at any time, and that it would
be very pleasant to go aboard the Pinta so laden.
That was true enough, and so they left the belts as they had
made them, and hung them in their hut, where afterwards they
discovered the natives looking at them in great awe. And the Butios
asked permission to carry them in procession to show to their
Zemes, as they called their idols.
Many times they thought of attempting escape, but whenever
they essayed it they discovered themselves to be very closely
watched, so that they were obliged to give up, unless they were
willing to use violence; and that they were afraid to do, even if it had
been feasible, and they were not sure that it was. By this time they
had been absent nearly three weeks from the ship, and they were so
uneasy that they were nearly beside themselves, though compelled
not to betray it to their host.
Then, one night, their opportunity came. It came in a singular
way, too. The people were passionately fond of dancing, and knew
no moderation in it. They would often dance as the boys had seen
the cacique do, who had discovered them at the cave, keeping on
their feet until their strength was exhausted, and then dropping,
almost fainting, to the earth.
Sometimes, too, the men would drink a sort of wine made from
the maize, when they had danced until they had dropped, and then
they would be stupid, and would sleep where they had fallen until
morning came. But in these cases there were always some of the
Butios who would keep their senses and watch over the boys.
But on the occasion spoken of it was not wine to which the fallen
dancers resorted, but to the dried leaf of a plant which had been
placed in a hollow dug in earth and there set a-smouldering.
The boys had seen this same leaf used in Cuba, but in a different
way. There the Indians had rolled it into a sort of stick, which they
called a tobacco, one end of which was taken into the mouth and
the other end lighted, so that by sucking at the stick a quantity of
the smoke from the ignited plant would be drawn into the mouth,
thereby causing the person so employed a pleasurable sensation. At
least the natives had declared this to be the case; though, when the
boys had tried it, they had had lively emotions of sickness in their
stomachs.
On this island the leaves were placed in the hollow spoken of,
and then ignited and smothered, so that the smoke would rise from
it in volumes. When it had come to this pass the Indians would lie
down by it with a hollow tube of wood shaped like a Y, the two
prongs of which were so arranged as to fit in the nostrils of the
smoker. Then the disengaged end would be thrust into the smoke,
which would then be inhaled until the smoker would fall over in a
stupor.
On a certain festival, which came while the boys were there, and
fortunately at a time when the Butios had lost all fear of the boys
escaping, though they had not relaxed their watchfulness, the
dancing was ended by an indulgence in a smoke.
The women took part in the dancing, but not in the smoking, so
that they would have been able to watch the boys if they had
thought it necessary; but they did not, and the Butios were so
anxious for the indulgence that they could not restrain themselves.
At first, when the dancing began, the boys did not realize what it
was to result in, and they had no thoughts of getting away that
night, but stood apart from the dancers, thinking how strange a
sight it was to see all those men and women whirling about by the
light of the flames that seemed themselves to be dancing as they
leaped up from the bonfires.
But after a while they saw how the men would fall down and
become stupid, and Juan pointed out how the Butios were dancing
and smoking with the others. That gave them their first hope of
escape, and after that they watched eagerly to see if the Butios had
really forgotten them.
It was quite late before they could be sure that they might
escape without fear of being noticed; but they knew that it would be
late in the morning before the men would recover their senses, and
that they would be able to go many miles if they made good use of
their time.
So they stole back to their hut, put on their gold-belts, and
started off in the direction of the Cibao Mountains, as they had so
often talked of doing. They went with many misgivings; for, not only
was there the fear of the wrath of Caonabo, should they be captured
and taken back, but there was the risk of not finding the ship, and of
being obliged to remain on the island at the mercy of other Indians,
not as friendly, perhaps, as Caonabo.
They had no hesitation because of their fears, however, but sped
away under cover of the friendly darkness, and, thanks to the care
with which they had studied the country all about the village, they
were enabled to take the right way without stopping to consider.
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