ke the
skein of cotton that he offered me. All the others came round him and
seemed astonished, for it appeared clear to them that we were good
people. The other man who had fled might do us some harm, because we had
carried him off, and for that reason I ordered this man to be set free
and gave him the above things, that he might think well of us, otherwise,
when your Highnesses again send an expedition, they might not be
friendly. All the presents I gave were not worth four maravedis. At 10 we
departed with the wind S.W., and made for the south, to reach that other
island, which is very large, and respecting which all the men that I
bring from San Salvador make signs that there is much gold, and that they
wear it as bracelets on the arms, on the legs, in the ears and nose, and
round the neck. The distance of this island from that of Santa Maria is
9 leagues on a course east to west. All this part of the island trends
N.W. and S.E., and it appeared that this coast must have length of 28
leagues. It is very flat, without any mountain, like San Salvador and
Santa Maria, all being beach without rocks, except that there are some
sunken rocks near the land, whence it is necessary to keep a good lookout
when it is desired to anchor, and not to come to very near the land; but
the water is always very clear, and the bottom is visible. At a distance
of two shots of a lombard, there is, off all these islands, such a depth
that the bottom cannot be reached. These islands are very green and
fertile, the climate very mild. They may contain many things of which I
have no knowledge, for I do not wish to stop, in discovering and visiting
many islands, to find gold. These people make signs that it is worn on
the arms and legs; and it must be gold, for they point to some pieces
that I have. I cannot err, with the help of our Lord, in finding out
where this gold has its origin. Being in the middle of the channel
between these two islands, that is to say, that of Santa Maria and this
large one, to which I give the name of Fernandina,[117-1] I came upon a
man alone in a canoe going from Santa Maria to Fernandina. He had a
little of their bread, about the size of a fist, a calabash of water, a
piece of brown earth powdered and then kneaded, and some dried leaves,
which must be a thing highly valued by them,[117-2] for they bartered
with it at San Salvador. He also had with him a native basket with a
string of glass beads, and two _blancas_, b