his way in
search of Bohio, the admiral was obliged to return to Cuba, where he came
to anchor in a harbour which he called St Catherines, not far from the
Princes Port, and there took in wood and water. In this port he
accidentally saw signs of gold on some stones in the river where they were
taking in water. The mountains in the interior were full of such tall pine
trees as were fit to make masts for the largest ships; neither was there
any scarcity of wood for plank to build as many ships as might be wished,
and among these were oaks and other trees resembling those in Castile. But
perceiving that all the Indians still directed him to Bohio and the
eastwards as the country of gold, he ran ten or twelve leagues farther to
the east along the coast of Cuba, meeting all the way with excellent
harbours and many large rivers. In one of his letters to their Catholic
majesties, he says so much of the delightfulness and beauty of the country,
that I have thought fit to give an extract in his own words. Writing
concerning the mouth of a river which forms a harbour which he named
Puerto Santo, or the Holy Harbour, he says thus:

"When I went with the boats before me to the mouth of the harbour towards
the south, I found a river up the mouth of which a galley could row easily;
and it was so land-locked that its entrance could not be discovered unless
when close at hand. The beauty of this river induced me to go up a short
distance, where I found from five to eight fathoms water. Coming to anchor,
I proceeded a considerable way up the river with the boats; and such was
the delightfulness of the place that I could have been tempted to remain
there for ever. The water was so clear that we could see the sand at the
bottom. The finest and tallest palm trees I had ever seen were in great
abundance on either shore, with an infinite number of large verdant trees
of other kinds. The soil seemed exceedingly fertile, being every where
covered by the most luxuriant verdure, and the woods abounded in vast
varieties of birds of rich and variegated plumage. This country, most
serene princes, is so wonderfully fine, and so far excels all others in
beauty and delightfulness as the day exceeds the night; wherefore I have
often told my companions that though I should exert my utmost endeavours
to give your highness a perfect account of it, my tongue and pen must ever
fall short of the truth. I was astonished at the sight of so much beauty,
and know