hey robbed him of his
share of the pearls. Many of these stones are as large as nuts, and
resemble oriental pearls, but as they are badly pierced, they are less
valuable.

[Note 9: Navarrete, iii., 78. The treasure was sold in August,
1501, and the proceeds divided among the sailors.]

One day, when lunching with the illustrious Duke of Medina-Sidonia in
Seville, I saw one of these pearls which had been presented to him. It
weighed more than a hundred ounces, and I was charmed by its beauty
and brilliancy. Some people claim that Nunez did not find these pearls
at Curiana, which is more than one hundred and twenty leagues distant
from Boca de la Sierpe, but in the little districts of Cumana and
Manacapana near by the Boca and the island of Margarita. They declare
that Curiana is not rich in pearls. This question has not been
decided; so let us treat of another subject. You now perceive what, in
the course of years, may be the value of this newly discovered country
and western coasts, since after a superficial exploration they have
yielded such evidences of wealth.

BOOK IX

TO THE SAME CARDINAL LUDOVICO D'ARAGON

Vincent Yanez Pinzon and his nephew Arias, who accompanied the Admiral
Columbus on his first voyage as captains of two of the smaller vessels
which I have above described as caravels, desirous of undertaking new
expeditions and making fresh discoveries, built at their own expense
four caravels in their native port of Palos, as it is called by the
Spaniards.[1] They sought the authorisation of the King and towards
the calends of December, 1499, they left port. Now Palos is on the
western coast of Spain, situated about seventy-two miles distant from
Cadiz and sixty-four miles from Seville in Andalusia, and all the
inhabitants without exception are seafaring people, exclusively
occupied in navigation.

[Note 1: An interesting account of this expedition may be read in
Washington Irving's _Companions of Columbus_; see also Navarrete, _op.
cit_., 82, 102, 113.]

Pinzon coasted along the Fortunate Isles,[2] and first laid his course
for the Hesperides, otherwise called the islands of Cape Verde, or
still better, the Medusian Gorgons. Sailing directly south on the
ides of January, from that island of the Hesperides called by the
Portuguese San Juan, they sailed before the south-west wind for about
three hundred leagues, after which they lost sight of the north star.
As soon as it disappeared they were ca