land, apparently ten or
fifteen miles long, very high, and of a conical shape, which I knew was
not laid down upon any chart. I resolved to examine it, and dropped my
anchor in a small bay, at the bottom of which a few houses announced
that it was inhabited; although I could not distinguish any thing like
guns or fortification. We had not furled our sails, when a boat shoved
off from the shore, and pulled towards us. She soon came alongside, and
astonished us as much by the peculiarity of her structure, as by the
appearance of the people who were on board.

She was a wide canoe, very beautifully carved and inlaid, or rather
veneered, with gold ornaments. She had a flag, hoisted to a staff,
hanging over the stern, the field of which was white, with a
representation of a fountain, worked in gold thread, in the centre. The
three men who were in her, particularly the one seated in the stern
sheets, were very richly attired in dresses worked in gold thread. But
what astonished us more than all was the peculiarity of their
complexions, which, although they were very well-featured men, were of a
beautiful light blue--their eyes black, and their hair of a rich auburn.

The personage in the stern sheets ascended the side, and addressing me
in excellent Portuguese, inquired if I could speak the language.

I answered in the affirmative, and he then welcomed us in the name of
the king, upon my arrival at the island--asking me the number of my
crew, whether I had any sick on board, and many other particulars, all
of which he noted down upon tablets of gold, with a piece of red
cinnabar.

Having replied to all his interrogations, I then obtained from him the
following particulars, viz., that the island had been originally peopled
by one of the ships belonging to Vasco de Gama's squadron, which,
returning from the East Indies laden with the produce of the east, and
specimens of the various inhabitants of the newly discovered
territories, had been cast away and utterly wrecked. That the island,
which otherwise was fertile and well stocked, was one mine of gold,
which in the absence of other metals, they were necessitated to employ
for every article and utensil in common use. But the greatest curiosity
which the island contained, was a fountain of water at the foot of the
centre peak, of a beautiful colour, and producing longevity to those who
drank of it; from which it had received the name of the Isle of the
Golden Fountain. That