pho de Flechas,_ or Gulf of arrows; the Indians
called it _Samana_. This place appeared to produce great quantities of
fine cotton, and the plant named _axi_ by the Indians, which is their
pepper and is very hot, some of which is long and others round[10]. Near
the land where the water was shallow, there grew large quantities of those
weeds which had formerly been seen in such abundance on the ocean; whence
it was concluded that it all grew near the land, and broke loose when ripe,
floating out to sea with the currents.

On Wednesday the 16th of January 1493, the admiral set sail from the Gulf
of Arrows, or _Samana,_ with a fair wind for Spain, both caravels being
now very leaky and requiring much labour at the pumps to keep them right.
Cape Santelmo was the last land they saw; twenty leagues north-east of it
there appeared great abundance of weeds, and twenty leagues still farther
on the whole sea was covered with multitudes of small tunny fishes, and
they saw great numbers of them on the two following days, the 19th and
20th of January, followed by great flocks of sea-fowl; and all the weeds
ran with the currents in long ropes east and west; for they always found
that the current takes these weeds a great way out to sea, and that they
do not continue long in the same direction, as they sometimes go one way,
and sometimes another, as carried by the changes of the currents; and
these weeds continued to accompany them for many days, until they were
almost half way across the Atlantic.

Holding on their course steadily with a fair wind, they made such way,
that on the 9th of February, the pilots believed they had got to the south
of the Azores; but in the opinion of the admiral, they were still 150
leagues to the west of these islands, and his reckoning turned out to be
true. They still found abundance of weeds, which, when they formerly
sailed to the West Indies, had not been seen until they were 263 leagues
west from the island of Ferro. As they sailed thus onwards with fair
weather and favourable winds, the wind began to rise, and increased from
day to day with a high sea, till at length they could hardly live upon it.
The storm had so increased on Thursday the 14th of February, that they
could no longer carry sail, and had to drive whichever way the wind blew;
but the Pinta, unable to lie athwart the sea, bore away due north before
the wind, which now came from the south; and though the admiral always
carried a light,