Chapter XVIII: Section XIII (1)

_Account of the Fourth Voyage of Columbus to the West Indies_.

We set sail from Cadiz on Monday the 9th of May 1502, and departed from St Catharines on the 11th of the same month for Arzilla, intending to relieve the Portuguese in that garrison who were reported to be in great distress; but when we came there the Moors had raised the siege. The admiral sent on shore his brother D. Bartholomew and me, along with the other captains of our ships to visit the governor, who had been wounded by the Moors in an assault. He returned thanks to the admiral for the visit and his offers of assistance, sending several gentlemen on board for this purpose, among whom were some relations of Donna Philippa Moniz, the admirals former Portuguese wife. We sailed from Arzilla on the same day, and arriving at Gran Canaria on the 20th of May, casting anchor among the little islands, and on the 24th went over to Maspalomas in the same island to take in wood and water for our voyage, and set out next night for the Indies. It pleased God to give us a fair wind, insomuch that on Wednesday the 15th of June, without handing our sails the whole way, we arrived at the island of Matinino. There, according to the custom of those who sail from Spain for the Indies, the admiral took in a fresh supply of wood and water, and ordered the men to wash their linens, staying till the 18th, when we stood to the westwards and came to Dominica ten leagues distant from Matinino[1]. So continuing our course among the Caribbee islands we came to Santa Cruz, and on the 24th of June we ran along the south side of the island of St John[2]; and thence proceeded for St Domingo, where the admiral proposed to have exchanged one of his ships for another. The vessel he wished to part with was a bad sailer, and besides could not carry sail without running its lee gunwale almost under water, and was a great hindrance to the voyage. His original design was to have gone directly to the coast of Paria, and to keep along the shore to the westwards till he should discover the straits, which he concluded must be somewhere about Veragua or Nombre de Dios. But on account of the fault of that ship he was forced to repair to St Domingo in hope of exchanging her for a better.

That the commandary Lores[3], who had been sent out by their majesties to call Bovadilla to account for his mal-administration, might not be surprised at our unexpected arrival, the admiral sent on the 29th of June, being then near the port, Peter de Terreros, captain of one of the ships, with a message to him signifying the necessity there was for exchanging one of the ships. For which reason, and because he apprehended the approach of a great storm, he requested permission to secure his squadron in the harbour; and he advised him not to allow the fleet then preparing to sail for Spain to quit the port for eight days to come, as it would otherwise be in great danger. But the governor would not permit the admiral to come into the harbour; neither did he delay the sailing of the fleet which was bound for Spain. That fleet consisted of 18 sail, and was to carry Bovadilla who had imprisoned the admiral and his brothers, and Francis Roldan with all those who had been in rebellion and done so much harm; all of whom it pleased God so to infatuate that they would not listen to the admirals good advice. I am satisfied that the hand of God was in this; for had they arrived in Spain they would never have been punished as their crimes deserved, as they enjoyed the protection of the bishop Fonseca. This impunity was prevented by their setting out from St Domingo for Spain, as no sooner were they come to the east point of Hispaniola than there arose a terrible storm; the admiral of the fleet went to the bottom, and in her perished Bovadilla with most of the rebels, and so great was the havock among the rest, that only three or four vessels escaped of the whole eighteen.

This event happened on Thursday the 30th of June; when the admiral, who had foreseen the storm and had been refused admittance into the port, drew up as close to the land as he could to shelter himself from its effects. The people on board his vessels were exceedingly dissatisfied at being denied that shelter which would have been given to strangers, much more to them who were of the same nation, and they feared they might be so served if any misfortune should afterwards befal them in the prosecution of their voyage. The admiral was greatly concerned on the same account, and was yet more vexed to experience such base ingratitude in a country which he had given to the honour and benefit of Spain, where he was thus refused shelter for his life. Yet by his prudence and judgment he secured his ships for that day. But next night the tempest increasing, and the night being extremely dark, three of the ships broke from their anchors and drifted from him. All were in imminent danger, and the people on board of each concluded that all the others were certainly lost. Those in the Santo suffered greatly by endeavouring to save their boat, which had been ashore with their captain Terreros, and now dragged astern where it overset, and they were obliged to cast it loose to save themselves. The caravel Bermuda was in infinite danger; for running out to sea it was almost covered and overwhelmed by the waves, by which it appeared what good reason the admiral had to endeavour to exchange that vessel, which all men concluded was saved, under God, by the wisdom and resolution of the admirals brother, than whom there was not at that time a more expert sailor. After all had suffered extremely, except the admiral who rode out the gale, it pleased God that they all met again on Sunday the 3d of July in the port of Azna on the south side of Hispaniola, where every one gave an account of his misfortunes. It appeared that Bartholomew Columbus had weathered this great storm by standing out to sea like an able sailor; while the admiral had avoided all danger by hugging close to the land like a wise astronomer, who knew whence the peril was to come.

His enemies might well blame him, by saying that he had raised this storm by magic art to be revenged on Bovadilla and the rest of his enemies who perished with him, since none of his own four ships were lost; whereas of the eighteen which had set out at the same time with Bovadilla, the _Ajuga_, or Needle, only held on its course for Spain, where it arrived in safety though the worst of the whole fleet, the other three that escaped having returned to St Domingo in a shattered and distressed condition. In the Ajuga there were 4000 pesos of gold belonging to the admiral, each peso being worth eight shillings.

The admiral gave his men a breathing time in the port of Azua, to recover from the fatigues which they had encountered in the storm; and as it is one of the usual diversions of seamen to fish when they have nothing else to do, I shall make mention of two sorts of fish in particular which I remember to have seen taken at that place, one of which was pleasant, and the other wonderful. The first was a fish called _Saavina_, as big as half an ordinary bull, which lay asleep on the surface of the water, and was struck by a harpoon from the boat of the ship Biscaina; being held fast by a rope so that it could not break loose, it drew the boat after it with the swiftness of an arrow in various directions, so that those who were in the ship, seeing the boat scud about at a strange rate without knowing the cause, could not imagine how it could do so without the help of oars. At length it sunk, and being drawn to the ships side was hoisted on deck by the tackle. The other fish is called Manati by the Indians, and there is nothing of the kind seen in Europe. It is about as large as an ordinary calf, nothing differing from it in the colour and taste of the flesh, except that it is perhaps better and fatter. Those who affirm that there are all sorts of creatures to be found in the sea, will have it that these fishes are real calves, since they have nothing within them resembling a fish, and feed only on the grass which they find along the banks[4].

Having refreshed his men and repaired his ships, the admiral went from Azua to the port of Brazil called Yaquimo by the Indians, to shun another storm of which he observed the approach. From thence he sailed again on the 14th of July, and was so becalmed that instead of holding on his course he was carried away by the current to certain small sandy islands near Jamaica; not finding any springs in these islands, the people had to dig pits or wells in the sand whence they procured water; on account of which circumstance the admiral named them _Islas de los Poros_, or the Well Islands. Then sailing southwards[5] for the continent, we came to certain islands, where we went on shore on the biggest only called Guanaia; whence those who make sea charts took occasion to call all those the islands of Guanaia, which are almost twelve leagues from that part of the continent now called the province of Honduras, but which the admiral then named Cape Casinas. These fabricators of charts often commit vast mistakes from ignorance; thus these same islands and that part of the continent nearest them are twice inserted in their charts, as if they were different countries; and though cape _Garcias a Dios_, and that they call Cape[6] ----. The occasion of this mistake was, that after the admiral had discovered these countries, one John Diaz de Solis, from whom the Rio de Plata was named Rio de Solis because he was there killed by the Indians, and one Vincent Yanez Pinzon, who commanded a ship in the first voyage when the admiral discovered the Indies, set out together on a voyage of discovery in the year 1508, designing to sail along that coast which the admiral discovered in his voyage from Veragua westwards; and following almost the same track which he had done, they put into the port of Cariari and passed by Cape Garcias a Dios as far as Cape Casinas, which they called Cape Honduras, and they named the before mentioned islands the Guanaias, giving the name of the biggest to them all. Thence they proceeded farther on without acknowledging that the admiral had been in those parts, that the discovery might be attributed to them, and that it might be believed they had found out extensive countries; although Peter de Ledesma, one of their pilots who had been with the admiral in his voyage to Veragua, told them that he knew the country, having been there with the admiral, and from whom I afterwards learnt these circumstances. But, independent of this authority, the nature of the charts plainly demonstrates that they have laid the same thing down twice, as the island is of the same shape and at the same distance; they having brought a true draught of the country, only saying that it lay beyond that which the admiral had before discovered. Hence the same country is twice delineated on the same chart, as time will make apparent when it shall please God that this coast shall be better known; for they will then find but one country of that sort. But to return to our voyage; the admiral ordered his brother Bartholomew to land with two boats on the island of Guanaia, where he found people like those of the other islands, except that their foreheads were not so high. They also saw abundance of pine trees, and found pieces of lapis calaminaris, such as is used for mixing with copper in the process for making brass; and which some of the seamen mistaking for gold concealed for a long time.

While the admirals brother was on shore, using his endeavours to learn the nature of the country, it so happened that a canoe eight feet wide and as long as a galley, made all of one piece, and shaped like those which were common among the islands, put in there. It was loaded with commodities brought from the westwards, and bound towards New Spain[7]. In the middle of this canoe there was an awning made of palm-tree leaves, not unlike those of the Venetian gondolas, which kept all underneath so close, that neither rain nor sea water could penetrate to wet the goods. Under this awning were the women and children, and all the commodities; and though there were twenty-five men in the canoe, they had not the courage to defend themselves against the people in our boats who pursued them. The canoe being thus taken without any opposition, was brought along side of the admiral, who blessed GOD for having given him samples of the commodities of that country, without exposing his men to any danger. He therefore ordered such things to be taken as he judged most sightly and valuable; such as quilts, cotton shirts without sleeves, curiously wrought and dyed of several colours; some small cloths for covering the nudities, large sheets, in which the women in the canoe wrapped themselves, as the Moorish women in Granada used to do, long wooden swords, having a channel on each side where the edge should be, in which many pieces of sharp-edged flints were fixed by means of thread and a tenacious bituminous matter; these swords could cut naked men as well as if they had been made of steel; hatchets for cutting wood made of good copper, and resembling the stone hatchets usual among the other islanders, also bells and plates of the same metal, and crucibles for melting it. For provisions, they had such roots and grains as they eat in Hispaniola, and a sort of liquor made of maize like English beer. They likewise had abundance of cacao nuts, which serve as money in New Spain, and on which they seemed to place great value; for when these were brought on board along with their other goods, I observed that when any of them fell, they all anxiously stooped to gather them up as if they had been of great importance.

These poor creatures seemed to be in a manner out of their wits, on being brought on board as prisoners among a people so strange and fierce as our men seemed to them; but so prevalent is avarice in man, that we ought not to wonder that it should so prevail over the apprehensions of these Indians, as to make them so anxious about their cacao-nut money, even in their present situation[8]. The modesty of their demeanour was admirable; for in getting them from the canoe into the ship, it happened that some of their clouts were removed, when they would clap their hands before them to supply the deficiency; and the women wrapped themselves up like the Moors of Granada, to avoid observation. The admiral restored their canoe, and gave them some things in exchange for those of which they had been deprived. And he only detained one old man named Giumbe, who seemed the chief, and the most intelligent person among them, that from him something might be learnt concerning the country, and that he might draw others of the natives to converse and traffic with the Christians. This he did very readily and faithfully all the while he sailed with us, where his language was understood; and as a reward for his service, when we came to where a different language was spoken, which was before we reached Cape Garcias a Dios, the admiral gave him some things, and sent him home quite satisfied.

Though the admiral had heard so much from those in the canoe concerning the great wealth, politeness, and ingenuity of the people westwards, towards what is now called New Spain; yet, considering that as these countries lay to leewards, he could sail thither whenever he might think fit from Cuba, he would not go that way at this time, but persisted in his design of endeavouring to discover a strait or passage across the continent, by which he might clear a way into what we now call the South Sea, in order to arrive at those countries which produce spice. He therefore determined to sail eastwards towards Veragua and Nombre de Dios, where he imagined that strait would be found, _as in effect it was_; yet was he deceived in this matter, as instead of an isthmus, he expected to discover a narrow gulf or inlet, communicating between the two seas. This mistake might proceed from the similarity of the two names; for when the natives said that the strait which he so anxiously desired to find was towards Veragua and Nombre de Dios, it might be understood either of land or water, and he understood it in the most usual sense, and that which he most earnestly desired[9]. And though that strait is actually land, yet it is the means of acquiring the dominion of both seas, and by which such enormous riches have been discovered and conveyed to Spain; for it was GODS will that this vast concern should be so found out, as from this canoe the admiral received the first information respecting New Spain.

There being nothing worthy of notice in the islands of Guanaia, he sailed thence to a point which he called _Casinas_, in order to find out the strait before mentioned. It received this name on account of its abounding in the trees which produce a species of fruit known by the name _casinas_ to the natives of Hispaniola; which fruit is rough like a spongy bone, and good to eat, especially when boiled. As there was nothing worthy of notice in that part of the country, the admiral would not lose time in examining a large bay which is in that place, but held on his course eastwards, along that coast which reaches to Cape Garcias a Dios, which is all very low and open. The people nearest to Cape Casinas, or Honduras, wear those painted shirts or jackets before mentioned, and clouts before their nudities; and likewise use certain coats of mail made of cotton, strong enough to defend them against their native weapons, and even to ward off the stroke of some of ours.

The people farther to the eastwards about Cape Garcias a Dios are almost black, of a fierce aspect, go stark naked, are very savage, and according to Giumbe eat mans flesh and raw fish. They have their ears bored with holes, large enough to admit a hens egg, owing to which circumstance the admiral called this coast _De las Orejas_, or the Land of Ears[10]. On Sunday the 14th of August, Bartholomew Columbus went ashore in the morning, with the captains and many of the men to hear mass; and on the Wednesday following, when the boats went ashore to take formal possession of the country, above 100 of the natives ran down to the shore loaded with provisions; and as soon as the lieutenant landed, came before him, and suddenly drew back without speaking a word. He ordered them to be presented with horse-bells, beads, and other trinkets, and endeavoured to make inquiry concerning the country by means of Giumbe; but he having been only a short time with us, did not understand our language, and by reason of his distance from Hispaniola, could not comprehend those of our people who had learnt the language of that island; neither did he understand those Indians. But they, being much pleased with what had been given them, above 200 of them came next day to the shore, loaded with various sorts of provisions; such as poultry much better than ours, geese, roasted fish, red and white beans like kidney beans, and other things like the productions of Hispaniola. This country, though low, was verdant and very beautiful, producing abundance of pines and oaks, palm trees of seven different kinds, mirabolans, of the kind called hobi in Hispaniola, and almost all the kinds of provisions produced in that island were found here. There were likewise abundance of deer, leopards, and other quadrupeds, and all sorts of fish that are found either at the islands or in Spain.

The people of this country are much like those of the islands, but their foreheads are not so high, neither did they appear to have any religion. There are several languages or dialects among them, and for the most part they go naked, except the clout before mentioned, though some of them wore a kind of short jerkin without sleeves, reaching to the navel. Their arms and bodies have figures wrought upon them with fire, which gave them an odd appearance; some having lions or deer, and others castles, with towers or other strange figures painted on their bodies. Instead of caps, the better sort wore red and white cotton cloths on their heads, and some had locks of hair hanging from their foreheads. When they mean to be very fine upon a day of festival, they colour their faces, some black and some red, and others draw streaks of several colours; some paint their noses, others black their eyes, and thus adorning, themselves as they think to look beautiful, they look in truth like devils.

The admiral sailed along the coast de las Orejas, or the Mosquito shore, eastwards to Cape Garcias a Dios, or Thanks be to GOD, so called on account of the difficulty of getting there, having laboured seventy days to get only sixty leagues to the eastwards of Cape Casinas or Honduras. This was occasioned by opposing currents and contrary winds, so that we had continually to tack out to sea and stand in again, sometimes gaining, and sometimes losing ground, according as the wind happened to be scant or large when we put about. And had not the coast afforded such good anchoring we had been much longer upon it; but being free from shoals or rocks, and having always two fathoms of water at half a league from the shore, and two more at every league farther distant, we had always the convenience of anchoring every night when there was little wind. When on the 14th of September we reached the cape, and found the land turned off to the southwards, so that we could conveniently continue our voyage with those _levanters_ or east winds that so continually prevailed, we all gave thanks to GOD for the happy change, for which reason the admiral gave it the name of Cape Garcias a Dios. A little beyond that cape we passed by some dangerous sands, that ran out to sea as far as the eye could reach.

It being requisite to take in wood and water, the boats were sent on the 16th of September to a river that seemed deep and to have a good entrance, but the coming out proved disastrous, for the wind freshening from the sea, and the waves running high against the current of the river, so distressed the boats, that one of them was lost with all the men in it; for which the admiral named it _Rio de la Disgratia_, or the River of Disaster. In this river, and about it, there grew canes as thick as a mans leg. Still running southwards, we came on Sunday the 25th of September to anchor near a small island called Quiriviri, and near a town on the continent named Cariari, where were the best people, country, and situation we had yet seen, as well because it was high and full of rivers, and thickly wooded with forests of palms, mirabolans, and other trees. For this reason, the admiral named this island Hucite. It is a small league from the town named Cariari by the Indians, which is situated near a large river, whither a great number of people resorted from the adjacent parts; some with bows and arrows, others armed with staves of palm tree, as black as coal and as hard as horn, pointed with fish bone, and others with clubs, and they came in a body as if they meant to defend their country. The men had their hair braided, and wound round their heads, and the women wore their hair short like our men. But perceiving that we had no hostile intentions, they were very desirous to barter their articles for ours; theirs were arms, cotton jerkins, and large pieces of cotton cloth like sheets, and guaninis which are made of pale gold, and worn about their necks like our relics. With these things they swam to our boats, for none of our people went on shore that day or the next. The admiral would not allow any of their things to be taken, lest we might be considered as covetous, but ordered some of our articles to be given to them. The less we appeared to value the exchange, the more eager were they to bring it about, and made many signs to that effect from the shore. At last, perceiving that none of our people would go on shore, they took all the things which had been given them, without reserving the smallest article, and tying them up in a bundle, left them on that part of the beach where our people first landed, and where our people found them on the Wednesday following when they went on shore.

Believing that the Christians did not confide in them, the Indians sent an ancient man of an awful presence, bearing a flag upon a staff, and accompanied by two girls of about eight and fourteen years of ages and putting these into the boat as if giving hostages, he made signs for our people to land. Upon their request, our people went ashore to take in water, the Indians taking great care to avoid doing any thing which might have alarmed the Christians; and when they saw our men about to return to the ships, the Indians made signs to take the girls along with them with their guaninis about their necks, and at the request of the old man, they complied and carried them on board. In this conduct these people shewed themselves of a more friendly disposition than any we had yet met with; and though the girls evinced uncommon undauntedness in trusting themselves unconcernedly among strangers, they always behaved themselves with great modesty and sweetness. The admiral treated them well, clothed and fed them, and sent them again on shore, where they were received by the old man and about fifty others, with great signs of satisfaction and content. On the boats going on shore again the same day, they found the same people with the girls, who insisted upon restoring all that had been given them by the admiral.

Next day, the admirals brother went on shore to endeavour to learn something of these people, when two of the chiefs came to the boat, and taking him by the arms made him sit down on the grass between them; and as, when he was about to ask them questions, he ordered his secretary to write down the information they might give, the sight of the pen, ink, and paper, threw them into such consternation that most of them ran away[11]. It was supposed they did this from dread of being bewitched; for to us they appeared to be sorcerers and superstitious people, as whenever they came near the Christians, they used to scatter some powder about them in the air, and to burn some of the same powder, endeavouring to make the smoke go towards the Christians; besides their refusing to keep any thing that belonged to us showed a degree of jealousy like the proverb, which says, "A knave thinks every man like himself[12]." Having remained here longer than was convenient, considering the haste we were in, and having repaired the ships, and provided all we wanted, the admiral sent his brother on shore with some men on the 2d of October, to view the town, and to endeavour to learn as much as possible of the manners of the people, and the nature of the country. The most remarkable thing they saw was a great wooden building covered with canes, in which were several tombs. In one of these there lay a dead body dried up and embalmed, in another two bodies wrapped up in cotton sheets and without any ill scent; and over each there was a board carved with the figures of beasts, and on one of them the effigies as was supposed of the person deposited underneath, adorned with guaninis, beads, and others of their most valued ornaments. These being the most civilized Indians yet met with, the admiral ordered some to be taken that he might learn the secrets of the country; seven men were accordingly seized, and of these two of the chiefest were selected, and the rest sent away with some gifts and courteous treatment, that the country might not be left in commotion; and these were told as well as we could express our meaning, that they were only to serve as guides upon that coast, and then to be set at liberty. But believing that they were taken out of covetousness, in order that they might ransom themselves with their valuable goods, great numbers of the natives came down next day to the shore, and sent four of their number on board to the admiral to treat for the ransom of their friends, offering such things as they possessed, and freely giving three hogs of the country, which, though small, are very ferocious. Observing, therefore, the uncommon policy of this nation, the admiral was the more anxious to be acquainted with them; and though he would not listen to their offers of ransoming their friends, he ordered some _trifles_ to be given to the messengers that they might not go away dissatisfied, and that they should be paid for their hogs.

Among other creatures which that country produces, there is a kind of cats of a greyish colour, as large as a small greyhound, but with a much longer tail, which is so strong, that whatever they clasp with it is as if bound fast with a rope. These animals ran about the trees like squirrels, and when they leap, they not only hold fast with their claws, but with their tails also, by which they often hang to the boughs, either to rest themselves or to sport. It happened that one Ballaster brought one of these cats out of a wood, having knocked him from a tree, and not daring to meddle with it when down because of its fierceness, he cut off one of its fore paws and brought it on board in that mutilated condition. Even in that maimed state, it terrified a good dog we had on board, but put one of the Indian hogs into much greater fear. The hog used to run at every person, and would not allow the dog to remain on deck; but the moment it saw the cat it ran away with signs of the utmost terror. The admiral therefore gave orders that the hog and the cat should be placed close together; the cat immediately wound her tail around the snout of the hog, and with its remaining fore-leg fastened on the pole of the hog, which grunted the while most fearfully. From this we concluded that these cats hunt like the wolves or dogs of Spain.

On Wednesday the 5th of October, the admiral sailed from Cariari, and came to the bay of Caravaro, which is six leagues long and two broad; in this bay there are many small islands, and two or three channels to go out and in by. Within these channels the ships sailed as it had been in streets or lanes between the islands, the branches of the trees rubbing against the shrouds. As soon as we anchored in this bay, the boats went to one of the islands where there were twenty canoes on the shore, and a number of people all entirely naked; most of them had a plate of gold hanging from the neck, and some an ornament of gold resembling an eagle. These people were perfectly peaceable, and shewed no tokens of being afraid of the Christians. Assisted by the two Indians from Cariari, who acted as interpreters, our people bought one of the gold plates which weighed ten ducats for three horse-bells, and the Indians said that there was great plenty of that metal to be had farther up the country at no great distance.

Next day, being the 7th of October, our boats went ashore upon the continent, where they met ten canoes full of people; and as they refused to barter away their gold ornaments, two of their chiefs were taken prisoners, one of whom had a gold plate weighing fourteen ducats, and the other an eagle of gold which weighed twenty-two. Being examined by the admiral, with the assistance of our interpreters, they said that there was great plenty of gold up the country, at places which they named, and which might be reached in a day or two. Vast quantities of fish were taken in the bay, and there were abundance of these creatures on shore which were before seen at Cariari; also great abundance of food, as grain, roots, and fruit. The men were entirely naked, except a narrow cotton cloth before, and had their faces and body painted all over with various colours, as red, white, and black. From this bay of Caravaro, we went to another close by it called Aburena, which in some measure is like the other.

On the 17th of October we put to sea to continue our voyage; and came to Guaiga, a river twelve leagues from Aburena. When our boats were going on shore here by order of the admiral, they saw above 100 Indians on the strand, who assaulted them furiously, running into the water up to their middles, brandishing their spears, blowing horns, and beating a drum in a warlike manner; they likewise threw the water at the Christians, and chewing certain herbs, they squirted the juice towards them. Our men lay upon their oars and endeavoured to pacify them, which they at length accomplished, and they drew near to exchange their gold plates, some for two, and others for three horse bells, by which means we procured sixteen gold plates worth 150 ducats. Next day, being Friday the 19th of October, the boats went again towards the land, intending to barter; but before going on shore, they called to some Indians who were under certain bowers or huts, which they had made during the night to defend their country, fearing the Christians might land to injure them. Though our people called long and loud, none of the Indians would approach, nor would the Christians venture to land till they knew what were the intentions of the Indians; for it afterwards appeared that the Indians waited to fall upon our people as soon as they might land. But perceiving that they came not out of the boats, they blew their horns and beat their drum, and ran into the water as they had done the day before, till they came almost up to the boats, brandishing their javelins in a hostile manner. Offended at this proceeding, and that the Indians might not be so bold and despise them, the Christians at last wounded one of them in the arm with an arrow, and fired a cannon to intimidate them, on which they all scampered away to the land. After this four Spaniards landed and called the Indians to come back, which they now did very quietly, leaving their arms behind them; and they bartered three gold plates, saying they had no more with them, as they had not come prepared for trade but for war.

The only object of the admiral in this voyage being to discover the country, and to procure samples of its productions, he proceeded without farther delay to Catiba, and cast anchor in the mouth of a great river. The people of the country were seen to gather, calling one another together with horns and drums, and they afterwards sent two men in a canoe towards the ships; who, after some conversation with the Indians who had been taken at Cariari, came on board the admiral without any signs of apprehension, and by the advice of the Cariari Indians gave the admiral two gold plates which they wore about their necks, for which he gave them some baubles in return. When these went on shore, there came another with three men, wearing gold plates at their necks, who parted with them as the others had done. Amity being thus settled, our men went on shore, where they found numbers of people along with their king, who differed in nothing from the rest, except that he was covered with one large leaf of a tree to defend him from the rain which then fell in torrents. To give his subjects a good example, he bartered away his gold plate, and bade them exchange theirs with our men, so that they got nineteen in all of pure gold. This was the first place in the Indies where our people had seen any sign of building, as they here found a great mass of wall or masonry that seemed to be composed of stone and lime, and the admiral ordered a piece of it to be brought away as a memorial or specimen. From thence we sailed eastwards to Cobravo, the people of which place dwell near the rivers of that coast; and because none of the natives came down to the strand, and the wind blew fresh, he held on his course to five towns of great trade, among which was Veragua, where the Indians said the gold was gathered and the plates manufactured.

The next day he came to a town called Cubiga, where the Indians of Cariari said that the trading country ended; this began at Carabora and extended to Cubiga for 50 leagues along the coast. Without making any stay here, the admiral proceeded on till he put into Porto Bello, to which he gave that name because it is large, well peopled, and encompassed by a finely cultivated country. He entered this place on the 2d of November, passing between two small islands within which ships may lie close to the shore, and can turn it out if they have occasion. The country about that harbour and higher up is by no means rough, but cultivated and full of houses a stone throw or a bow-shot only from each other, and forms the finest landscape that can be imagined. We continued there seven days on account of rain and bad weather, and canoes came constantly to the ships from all the country round to trade with provisions and bottoms of fine spun cotton, which they gave in exchange for points and pins and other trifles.

On Wednesday the ninth of November we sailed from Porto Bello eight leagues to the eastwards, but were driven back four leagues next day by stress of weather, and put in among some islands near the continent where the town of Nombre de Dios now stands; and because all these small islands were full of grain, the admiral called this place _Puerto de Bastimentos_, or Port of Provisions. While here one of our boats pursued a canoe, and the Indians imagining our men would do them some harm, and perceiving the boat within less than a stones throw of them, they leapt into the sea to swim away, which they all effected; for though the boat rowed hard it could not overtake any of them, or if it did come up with one he would dive like a duck and come up again a bow-shot or two distant. This chase lasted above half a league, and it was very pleasant to see the boat labour in vain and come back empty handed.

We continued here till the 23d of November, refitting the ships and mending our casks, and sailed that day to a place called Guiga, there being another of the same name between Veragua and Cerago. The boats went ashore at this place, where they found above 300 persons ready to trade in provisions and some small gold ornaments which they wore at their ears and noses. On Saturday the 24th of November we put into a small port which was called _Retrete_, or the Retired Place, because it could not contain above five or six ships together; the mouth of it was not above 15 or 20 paces over, and on both sides rocks appeared above water as sharp as diamonds. The channel between was so deep that no bottom could be found, though if the ships inclined only a little way to either side the men could leap on shore. This sharpness of the rocks saved the ships in this narrow passage, and the danger we were now in was owing to the covetousness of the people who went in the boats to view it, as they were desirous of trafficking with the Indians, and believed that the ships might be in safety close to the shore. In this place we were detained nine days by bad weather. At first the Indians came very familiarly to trade in such articles as they had to dispose of; but our seamen used to steal privately on shore and commit a thousand insolencies like covetous dissolute fellows, insomuch that they provoked the Indians to break the peace, and several skirmishes happened between them and our people. The Indians at length took courage to advance to our ships which lay with their sides close to the shore, intending to do us some harm; but their designs turned out to their own detriment, although the admiral always endeavoured to gain them by patience and civility. But perceiving their insolence to increase, he caused some cannon to be discharged, thinking to frighten them; this they answered with loud shouts, thrashing the trees with their clubs and staves, and showed by threatening signs that they did not fear the noise. Therefore to abate their pride and to surprise them with respect for the Christians, the admiral ordered a shot to be fired at a company of them that stood upon a hillock near the shore; and the ball falling among them made them sensible that our thunder carried a bolt along with it, and in future they dared not to show themselves even behind the hills.

The people of this country were the handsomest we had yet seen among the Indians, being tall and thin, without large bellies, and with agreeable countenances. The country was all plain, bearing little grass and few trees. In the harbour there were crocodiles or alligators of a vast size, which go on shore to sleep, and they scatter a scent as if all the musk in the world were together: They are fierce and ravenous, so that if they find a man asleep they drag him to the water and devour him, but they are fearful and cowardly when attacked. These alligators are found in many other parts of the continent, and some affirm that they are the same with the crocodiles of the Nile.

Finding that the violent winds from the E. and N.E. did not cease, and that no trade could be had with those people, the admiral resolved to go back that he might make farther inquiry into the reports of the Indians concerning the mines of Veragua, and therefore returned on Monday the 5th of November to Porto Bello ten leagues westwards. Continuing his course next day, he was encountered by a west wind which was quite contrary to his new design, though favourable for that which he had been attempting for three months past, but expecting that this wind would not last long because the weather was unsettled, he bore up against the wind for some days; but when the weather would seem a little favourable for going to Veragua, another wind would start up and drive us back again to Porto Bello, and when almost in hopes of getting into port we were quite beat off again. Sometimes there were such incessant flashes of thunder and lightning that the men durst hardly open their eyes, the ships seemed just sinking, and the sky appeared as if it would come down upon us. At times the thunder was so continued, that it was conceived some ship was firing its guns for assistance. At other times there would fall such incessant and heavy torrents of rain for two or three days together as if an universal deluge were going to overwhelm the world. This almost unceasing war of the elements perplexed the men and reduced them almost to despair, so that they were continually wet and could not get half an hours rest at a time, always beating up to windward. In such terrible tempests they dreaded the _fire_ in flashes of lightning, the _air_ for its fury, _the water_ for its mountainous waves, and the _earth_ for hidden rocks and sands; where they expected safety in a near haven, often encountering danger, and therefore preferring to contend against all the other elements to avoid the land. In the midst of all these terrors there occurred another no less wonderful and dangerous, which was a water-spout rising from the sea on Thursday the 13th of December; which, if they had not dissolved by reciting the gospel of St John, had certainly sunk whatever it had fallen upon. This phenomenon draws the water up to the clouds like a pillar and thicker than a butt, twisting it about like a whirlwind.

That same night we lost sight of the ship called the Biscaina, but had the good fortune to see it again after three or four dreadful dark days. It had lost its boat and had been in great danger, being so near the land as to be forced to come to anchor, which it likewise lost by being obliged to cut the cable. It now appeared that the currents on this coast follow the prevailing wind, running westwards with the east wind, and eastwards with the west. The ships being now almost shattered to pieces by the tempest, and the men quite spent with incessant labour, a calm for a day or two gave them some relief, and brought such multitudes of sharks about the ships as were dreadful to behold, especially to such as were superstitious. Ravens are reported to smell out dead bodies from a great distance, and some think that sharks have the same perceptive faculty. They have two rows of sharp teeth in the nature of a saw, with which if they lay hold of a mans leg or arm they cut it off as with a razor. Multitudes of these sharks were caught by a hook and chain, but being able to destroy no more, they continued in vast numbers swimming about. They are so greedy that they not only bite at carrion, but may be taken by means of a red rag upon the hook. I have seen a tortoise taken out of the stomach of one of these sharks that lived for some time afterwards aboard the ship; and out of another was taken the head of one of its own kind, which we had cut off and thrown into the water as not fit to be eaten, and the shark had swallowed it, which to us seemed strange and unnatural that one creature should swallow the head of another as large as its own; this however is owing to the vast size of their mouth which reaches almost to the belly, and the head is shaped like an olive. Though some of the people considered these creatures as foreboding misfortune, and others thought them bad fish, yet we were all thankful for them on account of the want we were now in: We had been eight months at sea, so that all the flesh and fish we had brought from Spain was consumed, and owing to the heat and moisture of the atmosphere, the biscuit was become so full of maggots that many of the people waited till night before they could eat the pottage made of it, that they might not see the maggots; but others were so used to eat them that they were not curious to throw them away, lest they might lose their supper.

Upon Saturday the 17th of December we put into a large bay or port three leagues to the eastwards of _Pennon_ called _Huiva_ by the Indians, where we remained three days. We there saw the Indians dwelling upon the tops of trees, like birds, laying sticks across the boughs upon which they build a kind of huts. We conceived this might have been for fear of the _griffins_ which are in that country, or to be out of reach of their enemies; for all along that coast the little tribes at every league distant are great enemies to each other and perpetually at war. We sailed from this port on the 20th with fair weather but not settled, for as soon as we were got put to sea the tempest rose again and drove us into another port, whence we departed the third day, the weather being somewhat mended, but like an enemy that lies in wait for a man, it rushed out again and drove us to Pennon, but when we hoped to get in there the wind came quite contrary and drove us again towards Veragua. Being at an anchor in the river the weather became again very stormy, so that we had reason to be thankful for having got into that port, where we had been before on the 12th of the same month. We continued here from the 26th of December to the 3d of January 1508; when, having repaired the ship Gallega and taken on board a good store of Indian wheat, water, and wood, we turned back to Veragua with bad weather and contrary winds, which changed crossly just as the admiral altered his course. This continual changing of the wind gave us so much trouble between Veragua and Porto Bello that the admiral named this _Costo de Contrasses_, or the Coast of Thwartings.

Upon Thursday, being the feast of the Epiphany, 6th January, we cast anchor near a river called _Yebra_ by the Indians, but which the admiral named Belem or Bethlem, because we came to it on the festival of the three kings. He caused the mouth of that river and of another to the westwards to be sounded; in the latter, called _Veragua_ by the Indians, the water was shoal, but in the river Belem there were four fathoms at high water. The boats went up this river to the town where we had been informed the gold mines of Veragua were situated. At first the Indians were so far from conversing that they assembled with their weapons to hinder the Christians from landing; and the next day on going up the river of Veragua, the Indians did the same, not only on shore, but stood upon their guard with their canoes in the water. But an Indian of that coast who understood them a little went on shore and persuaded them that we were good people, and desired nothing from them but what we would pay for; by this they were pacified and trucked twenty plates of gold, likewise some hollow pieces like the joints of reeds, and some unmelted grains. On purpose to enhance the value of their gold they said it was gathered a great way off among uncouth mountains, and that when they gathered it they did not eat, nor did they carry their women along with them, a story similar to which was told by the people of Hispaniola when it was first discovered.