a path. They sought to cut a pathway through the
undergrowth, but wandered about so hopelessly that they hardly
advanced a mile. This underbrush was indeed as high as our grain when
ripe. Worn out and fatigued, they returned without having discovered
a trail. The next day the Admiral sent out a new troop of twenty-five
men, urging them to use the greatest diligence to discover the
inhabitants of that country. They, however, having come upon the
tracks of some large animals, amongst which they thought they
recognised those of lions, were terrified and retraced their
steps.[18] In the course of their march, they had found a forest
overgrown with wild vines, which hung suspended from the loftiest
trees, and also many other spice-producing trees. They brought back to
Spain heavy and juicy bunches of grapes. As for the other fruits they
collected, it was impossible to bring them to Spain, because there
were no means of preserving them on board the ships; hence they
rotted, and when they were spoiled they threw them into the sea. The
men said that they had seen flocks of cranes twice as large as ours in
the forest.

[Note 17: None of the natives of the islands wore white tunics,
nor indeed any but the most scanty covering. It has been surmised that
the soldier who made this report may indistinctly and from a distance
have descried a flock of tall white cranes, otherwise he was either
the victim of an hallucination or an inventor of strange tales to
astonish his fellows. Humboldt (_Histoire de la Geographie du nouveau
Continent_) quotes an instance of the colonists of Angostora once
mistaking a flock of cranes for a band of soldiers.]

[Note 18: There were no lions nor large beasts of prey in the
island; it has been suggested that these tracks may have been
footprints of an alligator.]

Pursuing his course, the Admiral sailed towards other mountains; he
observed upon the shore two huts, in which only one man was found,
who, when he was brought on board the ships, shook his head and hands,
indicating by signs that the country about these mountains was very
populous. All along this coast the Admiral encountered numerous canoes
which came to meet him, and on one side and the other friendly signals
were exchanged. The man Diego, who, from the beginning of the voyage
understood the language of the islanders, did not understand that of
this newcomer. It was known, indeed, that the languages vary in the
different provinces of Cu