plains; it is in the center of the island, but
merchandise is brought from the sea by the river Caute, which is
opposite. Among the treasures of this island are certain stones of
divers size, but all perfectly round, so they could serve as cannon
balls; they are said to be so numerous on the shores of the river
bearing the name of the town, that they seem to have rained from
the sky. Oniedo says they are found in a marshy valley almost
midway between this city and Santiago.

"Puerto de Principe ranks fourth; town and harbor, much esteemed by
mariners, are to the north of the island, forty leagues from
Santiago northwest. Not far are springs of bitumen, which Monardes
mentions (and which the Indians use as remedy for chills). I
believe they are the naptha of the ancients.

"Santi Spiritus of forty to fifty houses is more a village than a
town and its harbor is good only for barges and sloops. But vessels
stop there on their way from Santiago, Bayamo and Puerto Principe
to Havana.

"Trinite-Trinidad--once populated by Indians, now almost deserted,
has an inconvenient harbor and was the scene of some shipwrecks.

"Havana receives the sea by a narrow but deep inlet, enlarging into
a wide bay, with coasts at first diverging and then meeting,
capable of holding a thousand vessels as if in a safe bosom. All
the Spanish fleets coming from the meridional continent, New Spain
and the islands, loaded with a variety of merchandise and an
abundance of gold and silver, stop there to take on water and
necessary victuals, and when a sufficient number has collected, in
September or later, they go out together or in two fleets through
the straits of Bahama towards Spain: The city has besides the
garrison (the number of which is uncertain, although the king sends
the pay for a thousand soldiers and more) three hundred Spanish
families, some Portuguese and a large number of slaves. The
governor of the island and the other royal officers reside there.
It surpasses not only the other cities of the island, but almost
all of America by the size and safety of her port, her wealth and
her commerce. The neighboring forests furnish a great abundance of
excellent woods, which they use to build their ships, which is a
very great convenience. They have also tried to wor