The Same
Customs Were Followed By The Women In Another Island, Called Matrimonio Or
The Island Of Matrimony, And This Woman Gave An Account Of These Islanders
Similar To What We Read Concerning The Amazons; And The Admiral Believed
It Because Of The Strength And Courage Of These Women[9].
It is also said
that these women seemed to have clearer understandings than those of the
other islands; for in
The other islands they only reckon the day by the
sun and the nights by the moon, whereas these women reckoned by other
stars, saying that it is time to do such and such things when the great
bear or certain other stars, as it may be, are due north.
When they had made provision of bread for twenty days besides what they
had on board, the admiral resolved to continue his voyage into Spain. But,
considering that the island of Guadaloupe was an inlet to others, he
thought fit to send all the women on shore, having first made them some
gifts in compensation of the loss they had sustained; except the chief
lady, who chose to go into Spain with her daughter along with the other
Indians from Hispaniola. One of these was Cannabo, the chief cacique of
that island in the late disturbances, who was himself a Carib and not a
native of that island. Having furnished all the vessels with bread, wood,
and water, the admiral set sail on Wednesday the twentieth of April from
Guadaloupe, with the wind very scant, keeping near the latitude of
twenty-two degrees north: as at this time they had not found out the
method of running away north to meet the S.W. winds.
Having made but little way and the ships being full of people, they began
by the twentieth of May to be much afflicted with scarcity of provisions,
insomuch that they were reduced to an allowance of six ounces of bread and
less than a pint of water for each person daily, and had no other article
of provision besides. Though there were eight or nine pilots in the two
ships, yet none of them knew whereabout they were, but the admiral was
confident that they were then only a little west of the Azores, whereof he
gives the following account in his journal.
"This morning the Dutch compasses varied as they used to do a whole point,
while those of Genoa, which used to agree with them, varied but a very
little, though afterwards sailing farther east they varied more, which is
a sign that we were 100 leagues west of the Azores or somewhat more; for
when we were just 100 leagues there were only a few scattered weeds to be
seen, the Dutch needles varying a point while those of Genoa pointed due
north; and when we got somewhat farther E.N.E. they altered again." This
idea was verified on the twenty-second of May, when by exact reckoning the
admiral found that he was 100 leagues to the west of the Azores. He was
much astonished at this singular difference between the two kinds of
compasses, which he was disposed to attribute to their having been made by
different kinds of loadstones; for until they had arrived at that
longitude they all varied a point from the true north, and some of them
continued to do so even there, while those constructed at Genoa, now
pointed due north, and the same remarkable discrepancy continued upon the
twenty-fourth of May.
They thus continued their course, all the pilots going on with blind
confidence, till on Wednseday the 8th of June they came in sight of
Odemira, between Lisbon and Cape St Vincent; but the admiral, confident
that they were near that cape, slackened sail the night before, though
laughed at by many, some affirming that they were in the English channel,
while those who erred least believed themselves on the coast of Galicia.
The scarcity was now become so great that many objected to shortening sail,
alleging that it were better to run the risk of perishing at once by
running on shore than to starve miserably on the sea; and many, like the
canibals, were for eating the Indians who where on board, or at least were
for throwing them overboard, on purpose to make some small saving of the
provisions which remained; and this would certainly have been done if the
admiral had not exerted his whole authority to save them, as human
creatures who ought not to be worse used than the rest. At length it
pleased God to reward him with the sight of land in the morning, according
to his promise the preceding evening; for which he was ever afterwards
considered by the seamen as most expert and almost prophetical in maritime
affairs.
Having landed in Spain the admiral went to Burgos, where he was very
favourably received by their Catholic majesties, who were then at that
place celebrating the marriage of their son Prince John with Margaret of
Austria, daughter of the Emperor Maximilian. That princess was conducted
into Spain with great splendour, and received by most of the nobility and
by the greatest concourse of persons of quality that ever had been seen
together in Spain. But though I was present on the occasion as page to
prince John, I shall not enter into the particulars of this solemnity,
since it does not belong to the history I have undertaken to write, and
because the royal historiographers will have doubtless taken care to
record this event.
On his arrival at Burgos, the admiral presented their majesties, with many
curious specimens of the productions of the Indies, as birds, beasts,
trees, plants, instruments, and other things used by the Indians in their
employments and amusements; also girdles, and masks, having ears and eyes
made of gold plates; likewise with much gold dust, small and gross as
produced by nature, some of the grains as big as vetches, some like beans,
and others as large as pigeons eggs.
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