les, and they had their doors or entrances in the
style of drawbridges: and from each house one could pass through all,
by means of the drawbridges, which stretched from house to house: and
when the people thereof had seen us, they appeared to be afraid of us,
and immediately drew up all the bridges: and while we were looking at
this strange action, we saw coming across the sea about 22 canoes,
which are a kind of boats of theirs, constructed from a single tree:
which came toward our boats, as they had been surprized by our
appearance and clothes, and kept wide of us: and thus remaining, we
made signals to them that they should approach us, encouraging them
with every token of friendliness: and seeing that they did not come,
we went to them, and they did not stay for us, but made to the land,
and, by signs, told us to wait, and that they should soon return: and
they went to a bill in the background, and did not delay long: when
they returned, they led with them 16 of their girls, and entered with
these into their canoes, and came to the boats: and in each boat they
put four of the girls.

That we marveled at this behavior your Magnificence can imagine how
much, and they placed themselves with their canoes among our boats,
coming to speak with us: insomuch that we deemed it a mark of
friendliness: and while thus engaged we beheld a great number of
people advance swimming toward us across the sea, who came from the
houses: and as they were drawing near to us without any apprehension:
just then there appeared at the doors of the houses certain old women,
uttering very loud cries and tearing their hair to exhibit grief:
whereby they made us suspicious, and we each betook ourselves to arms:
and instantly the girls whom we had in the boats, threw themselves
into the sea, and the men of the canoes drew away from us, and began
with their bows to shoot arrows at us: and those who were swimming
each carried a lance held, as covertly as they could, beneath the
water: so that, recognizing the treachery, we engaged with them, not
merely to defend ourselves, but to attack them vigorously, and we
overturned with our boats any of their almadie or canoes, for so they
call them, we made a slaughter (of them), and they all flung
themselves into the water to swim, leaving their canoes abandoned,
with considerable loss on their side, they went swimming away to the
shore: there died of them about 15 or 20, and many were left wounded:
and of