They Have
Three Holes In Their Lips, In Which They Wear Small Pieces Of Tin By Way
Of Ornament.
The natives took several of our men along with them to make
merry at one of their towns, whence they brought water to our ships.
After the general had been three days in this river, two of the nobles,
or head men of the natives, came on board to visit him, who were naked
like the rest, except that their aprons were much larger, and one of them
had a handkerchief on his head, embroidered with silk, while the other
wore a nightcap of green satin[22]. Observing their cleanliness, or
civility, the general treated these people courteously, and gave them
victuals, apparel, and other things, of which they seemed to make but
small account; and by certain signs, shewn by a young man, it was
understood that his country was at a considerable distance, where he had
seen ships as large as ours. This intelligence gave great hopes to our
people that the Indies were not far off, which was much confirmed by the
chiefs who had been on board, sending off for sale certain cloths made of
cotton, on which there were marks of ochre. In respect of all these
encouraging tokens, the general named this river _Ho rio dos bos Sinaes_,
or River of Good Signs; and called the place San Rafael, after the name
of his own Ship[23].
From the signs of the before-mentioned young men, that the country of the
head men who had been on board was far off, where they had seen large
ships, the general concluded that the Indies were still at a great
distance; and therefore determined, in consultation with the other
captains, to lay the ships aground, to give their bottoms a thorough
repair, which was done accordingly.
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