Pope Pius II. (Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini;
Venice, 1477), summarized the description of the Massagetae in ch. XII.
in part as follows: they "use golden girths and golden bridles and silver
breast-pieces and have no iron but plenty of copper and gold." _Raccolta
Colombiana_, parte I., tomo II., p. 300. This description of the
Massagetae goes back to Herodotus. While some habits ascribed to the
Massagetae were like what Columbus observed in Veragua, their home was
nowhere near eastern China.

[409-3] See p. 393, note 3.

[409-4] The account in the _Historie_ is radically at variance with this.
The girls were brought on board and "showed themselves very brave since
although the Christians in looks, acts, and race were very strange, they
gave no signs of distress or sadness, but maintained a cheerful and
modest (_honesto_) bearing, wherefore they were very well treated by the
Admiral who gave them clothes and something to eat and then sent them
back." _Historie_, p. 299. Ferdinand gives the ages as eight and fourteen
and says nothing of witchcraft except that the Indians were frightened
and thought they were being bewitched when Bartholomew the next day
ordered the ships' clerks to write down the replies he got to his
questions; _ibid._

[410-1] A specimen of the Maya sculptures, of which such imposing remains
are found in Yucatan. The translation follows Lollis's emendation, which
substitutes _mirrado_ for _mirando_.

[410-2] _Gato paulo_. On this name, see p. 341, note 3. Ferdinand, in the
_Historie_, relates this incident in more detail, from which it is clear
that the pigs were peccaries which had been captured by the men. On the
other hand, Ulloa, the Italian translator of the _Historie_,
mistranslated _gato paulo_ by "gatto," "cat."

[410-3] _Begare._ Columbus in recollecting this incident transferred to
the monkey the Indian name of the wild pigs. The _begare_ is the
"peccary," a native of America. Oviedo, lib. XII., cap. XX, gives
_baquira_ as the name of wild pigs in Nicaragua, and _baquira_ and
_begare_ are obviously identical.

[410-4] For the word _barra_ no explanation can be offered except what is
derived from the context. As the Italian has _diverse malattie_, "divers
diseases," de Lollis suggests that _barra_ should be _varias_ and that
_maladias_ was somehow dropped from the text.

[410-5] _Leones._ The American lion or puma.

[411-1] A misunderstanding. The Mayas made no metal tools. Brinton, _Th