idden, since he has inserted
above a dozen falsehoods in half a sheet of paper in his Psalter, in
matters concerning this discovery and navigation, which are well known.
These I shall briefly mention, without staying to give him any answer,
that I may not interrupt the series of the history; and because from its
tenor, and by what has been written by others on that subject, the
falsehood of his writing will distinctly appear.

The _first_ falsehood is, that the admiral went to Lisbon to learn
cosmography from a brother of his own who was settled in that place. This
is utterly contrary to the truth; since he lived in that city before the
arrival of his brother, and taught his brother what he knew instead of
learning from him. The _second_ falsehood is, that their Catholic
majesties Ferdinand and Isabella accepted his proposal at his first coming
to Castile, after it had been seven years bandied about and rejected by
all men. The _third_, that he set out upon his discovery with two ships;
whereas the truth is, that he had three caravels in his first voyage. The
_fourth_, that his first discovery was Hispaniola; whereas the first land
he came to was Guanahani, which he named St Salvador, or St Saviour. The
_fifth_, that the island of Hispaniola was inhabited by cannibals; while
the truth is, that its inhabitants were the best and most civilized people
in all those parts. The _sixth_, that he took the canoe or Indian boat
which he first saw by force of arms; whereas it is certain that he had no
hostilities in the first voyage with any of the Indians, and continued in
peace and amity with them until his departure from Hispaniola. The
_seventh_, that he returned by way of the Canary Islands, which is by no
means the proper route. The _eighth_, that he dispatched a messenger from
the Canaries to their Catholic majesties; whereas it is certain he was not
at these islands on his return, and that he was his own messenger. The
_ninth_, that he went with _twelve_ ships on his second voyage, while he
actually had _seventeen_. The _tenth_, that he arrived at Hispaniola in
twenty days, which is too short a time to reach the nearest islands; and
he certainly did not perform the second voyage in two months, and besides
went to other islands much farther distant before going to Hispaniola. The
_eleventh_, that he immediately afterwards went from Hispaniola with two
ships, whereas he certainly went to Cuba with three vessels. The _twelfth_