In One Of The Islands
Of This Group, Larger Than The Rest, And Which He Named Santa Martha, He
Found
A town, in which there was abundance of fish, many dogs which did
not bark, large flocks of flamingos or
Red cranes, plenty of parrots and
other birds, but the inhabitants all fled.
Being in want of water, and not finding any in the small islands, the
admiral drew near the coast of Cuba. On account of the thickness of the
trees close down to the waters edge, it was impossible to discover whether
there were any towns or not; but one of the sailors having penetrated some
way into the woods, met thirty men armed with spears, and a kind of wooden
swords, called mazanos by the Indians: he alleged likewise that one of the
natives was clothed with a white garment down to his heels, like a
surplice; but neither his person nor any of the others, could be
afterwards found, as they all fled into the woods. Proceeding about ten
leagues further on, they espied some houses, whence several men came off
in their canoes, bringing provisions and calabashes of water, for which
they were rewarded with toys. The admiral requested them to leave one of
their men with him, to give him some information respecting the country,
to which they reluctantly consented. This person almost satisfied the
admiral that Cuba was an island, and he reported that a cacique who dwelt
farther towards the west, gave all his orders to his people by signs, yet
was obeyed by them.
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