nks to those interpreters
whom the Admiral had taken to Spain on his first voyage.

[Note 1: The chronology throughout is erroneous. Columbus had sailed
from Cadiz on September 25th, arriving at Gomera on October 5th.]

[Note 2: The first island was discovered on November 3d, and was named
La Deseada, or The Desired; five others, including Domingo and Maria
Galante were discovered on the same date.]

[Note 3: The island of Guadeloupe, called by the natives Caracueira.]

While exploring the island, numerous villages, composed of twenty or
thirty houses each, were discovered; in the centre is a public square,
round which the houses are placed in a circle. And since I am speaking
about these houses, it seems proper that I should describe them to
you. It seems they are built entirely of wood in a circular form. The
construction of the building is begun by planting in the earth very
tall trunks of trees; by means of them, shorter beams are placed in
the interior and support the outer posts. The extremities of the
higher ones are brought together in a point, after the fashion of
a military tent. These frames they then cover with palm and other
leaves, ingeniously interlaced, as a protection against rain. From
the shorter beams in the interior they suspend knotted cords made of
cotton or of certain roots similar to rushes, and on these they lay
coverings.[4]

[Note 4: Hamacs, which are still commonly used in _tierra caliente_
of the West Indies, Mexico, and Central America.]

The island produces cotton such as the Spaniards call _algodon_ and
the Italians _bombasio_. The people sleep on these suspended beds or
on straw spread upon the floor. There is a sort of court surrounded by
houses where they assemble for games. They call their houses _boios_.
The Spaniards noticed two wooden statues, almost shapeless, standing
upon two interlaced serpents, which at first they took to be the gods
of the islanders; but which they later learned were placed there
merely for ornament. We have already remarked above that it is
believed they adore the heavens; nevertheless, they make out of
cotton-fabric certain masks, which resemble imaginary goblins they
think they have seen in the night.

But let us return to our narrative. Upon the arrival of the Spaniards,
the islanders, both men and women, abandoned their houses and fled.
About thirty women and children whom they had captured in the
neighbouring islands and kept either as slaves o