In One Of The Islands In The Sea Of Our Lady, The Spaniards Killed A
Quadruped Resembling A Badger, And In The Sea They Found Considerable
Quantities Of Mother-Of-Pearl.
Among other fish which they caught in their
nets, was one resembling a swine, which was covered all over with a very
hard skin except the tail, which was quite soft.
In this sea among the
islands, the tide was observed to rise and fall much more than in the
other places where they had been hitherto; and was quite contrary to ours
in Spain, as it was low water when the moon was S.W. and by S.
On Monday the 19th November, the admiral departed from the Princes Port in
Cuba and the Sea of our Lady, and steered eastwards in search of Bohio;
but owing to contrary winds, he was forced to ply two or three days
between the island of Isabella, called Saomotto by the Indians, and the
Puerta del Principe, which lie almost due north and south, at about
twenty-five leagues distance. In this sea he still found traces of those
weeds which he had seen in the ocean, and perceived that they always swam
with the current and never athwart.
At this time Martin Alonzo Pinzon, being informed by certain Indians whom
he had concealed in his caravel, that abundance of gold was to be had in
the island of Bohio, and blinded by covetousness, he deserted the admiral
on Wednesday the 21st of November, without being constrained by any stress
of weather, or other necessity whatever, as he could easily have come up
with him before the wind. Taking advantage of the superior sailing of his
vessel the Pinta, he made all sail during the next day, and when night
came on of the 22d, he was entirely out of sight. Thus left with only two
ships, and the weather being unfavourable for proceeding on his way in
search of Bohio, the admiral was obliged to return to Cuba, where he came
to anchor in a harbour which he called St Catherines, not far from the
Princes Port, and there took in wood and water. In this port he
accidentally saw signs of gold on some stones in the river where they were
taking in water. The mountains in the interior were full of such tall pine
trees as were fit to make masts for the largest ships; neither was there
any scarcity of wood for plank to build as many ships as might be wished,
and among these were oaks and other trees resembling those in Castile. But
perceiving that all the Indians still directed him to Bohio and the
eastwards as the country of gold, he ran ten or twelve leagues farther to
the east along the coast of Cuba, meeting all the way with excellent
harbours and many large rivers. In one of his letters to their Catholic
majesties, he says so much of the delightfulness and beauty of the country,
that I have thought fit to give an extract in his own words.
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