I would more fear, nor any kind of death that might
threaten me, which would not be more supportable than for me to live
without you and separated by such an immense distance. I would rather
die and even be eaten by fish in the sea or devoured on land by
cannibals, than to consume myself in perpetual mourning and in
unceasing sorrow, awaiting--not my husband--but his letters. My
determination is not sudden nor unconsidered; nor is it a woman's
caprice that moves me to a well-weighed and merited decision. You must
choose between two alternatives. Either you will kill me or you will
grant my request. The children God has given us (there were eight of
them, four boys and four girls) will not stop me for one moment. We
will leave them their heritage and their marriage portions, sufficient
to enable them to live in conformity with their rank, and besides
these, I have no other preoccupation."

Upon hearing his wife speak such words from her virile heart, the
husband knew that nothing could shake her resolution, and therefore,
dared not refuse her request. She followed him as Ipsicratea, with
flowing hair, followed Mithridates, for she loved her living husband
as did the Carian Artemisia of Halicarnassia her dead Mausolus. We
have learned that this Elizabeth Bobadilla brought up, as the proverb
says, on soft feathers, has braved the dangers of the ocean with as
much courage as her husband or the sailors who pass their lives at
sea.

The following are some other particulars I have noted. In my First
Decade I spoke, and not without some praise, of Vincent Yanez Pinzon,
who had accompanied the Genoese, Christopher Columbus, the future
Admiral, on his first voyage. Later, he undertook, by himself and at
his own cost, another voyage, with but one ship for which he received
the royal license. During the year preceding the departure of Hojeda
and Nicuesa, Vincent Yanez undertook a third exploration, sailing from
Hispaniola. His course was from east to west, following the southern
shore of Cuba, which, owing to its length, many people at that time
thought a continent; and he sailed round it. Many other persons have
since reported that they have done the same.

Having demonstrated by this expedition that Cuba was indeed an island,
Vincent Yanez sailed farther, and discovered other lands west of Cuba,
but such as the Admiral had first touched. He kept to the left and,
following the continental coasts towards the east, he crossed the