they saw an old native man observing
them; and the old man came and sat down beside Columbus and talked to him
through the interpreter. He told him that he had been in Jamaica and
Espanola as well as in Cuba, and that the coming of the Spaniards had
caused great distress to the people of the islands.

He then spoke to Columbus about religion, and the gist of what he said
was something like this: "The performance of your worship seems good to
me. You believe that this life is not everything; so do we; and I know
that when this life is over there are two places reserved for me, to one
of which I shall certainly go; one happy and beautiful, one dreadful and
miserable. Joy and kindness reign in the one place, which is good enough
for the best of men; and they will go there who while they have lived on
the earth have loved peace and goodness, and who have never robbed or
killed or been unkind. The other place is evil and full of shadows, and
is reserved for those who disturb and hurt the sons of men; how important
it is, therefore, that one should do no evil or injury in this world!"

Columbus replied with a brief statement of his own theological views, and
added that he had been sent to find out if there were any persons in
those islands who did evil to others, such as the Caribs or cannibals,
and that if so he had come to punish them. The effect of this ingenuous
speech was heightened by a gift of hawks' bells and pieces of broken
glass; upon receiving which the good old man fell down on his knees, and
said that the Spaniards must surely have come from heaven.

A few days later the voyage to the, south-east was resumed, and some
progress was made along the coast. But contrary winds arose which made
it impossible for the ships to round Cape Cruz, and Columbus decided to
employ the time of waiting in completing his explorations in Jamaica.
He therefore sailed due south until he once more sighted the beautiful
northern coast of that island, following it to the west and landing, as
his custom was, whenever he saw a good harbour or anchorage. The wind
was still from the east, and he spent a month beating to the eastward
along the south coast of the island, fascinated by its beauty, and
willing to stay and explore it, but prevented by the discontent of his
crews, who were only anxious to get back to Espanola. He had friendly
interviews with many of the natives of Jamaica, and at almost the last
harbour at which he tou