onquerors of the field with
many of them dead and a good number wounded.

We took no other pains to pursue them, because we were very weary, and
we returned to our ships, with so much gladness on the part of the
seven men who had come with us that they could not contain themselves
(for joy): and when the next day arrived, we beheld coming across the
land a great number of people, with signals of battle, continually
sounding horns, and various other instruments which they use in their
wars: and all (of them) painted and feathered, so that it was a very
strange sight to behold them: wherefore all the ships held council,
and it was resolved that since this people desired hostility with us,
we should proceed to encounter them and try by every means to make
them friends: in case they would not have our friendship, that we
should treat them as foes, and so many of them as we might be able to
capture should all be our slaves: and having armed ourselves as best
we could, we advanced toward the shore, and they sought not to hinder
us from landing, I believe, from fear of the cannons: and we jumped on
land, 57 men in four squadrons, each one (consisting of) a captain and
his company: and we came to blows with them.

After a long battle many of them (were) slain, we put them to flight,
and pursued them to a village, having made about 250 of them captives,
and we burnt the village, and returned to our ships with victory and
250 prisoners, leaving many of them dead and wounded, and of ours
there were no more than one killed, and 22 wounded, who all escaped
(_i.e._, recovered), God be thanked. We arranged our departure, and
seven men, of whom five were wounded, took an island-canoe, and with
seven prisoners that we gave them, four women and three men, returned
to their (own) country full of gladness, wondering at our strength:
and we thereon made sail for Spain with 222 captive slaves: and
reached the port of Calis (Cadiz) on the 15th day of October, 1498,
where we were well received and sold our slaves. Such is what befell
me, most noteworthy, in this my first voyage.

[1] From a letter addrest by Vespucius to Pier Soderini, Gonfalonier
of Florence. A translation is printed in the "Old South Leaflets."
Vespucius, during one of his voyages, is believed to have
discovered the coast of South America--perhaps as far down as the
mouth of La Plata. His letters, however, give slight clue to
localities. Few of the