early like
that which was bestowed upon the continent by Europeans should be
found applied to portions of that continent by the aborigines; but
some enthusiasts have undertaken to show that it was from this native
appellation the cartographers and cosmographers derived the first
"America" placed upon the maps.

IX

CANNIBALS, GIANTS, AND PEARLS

1499-1500

Besides the letter written by Vespucci to Lorenzo de Medici, he sent
an account of the second voyage to his friend Soderini, in which are
some incidents not mentioned in the first, with very little repetition
of others. He wrote:

"We set out from the port of Cadiz, three ships in company,
on the 18th of May, and steered directly for the Cape de
Verdes, passing within sight of the Grand Canary, and soon
arriving at an island called De Fuego, or Fire Island,
whence, having taken wood and water, we proceeded on our
voyage to the southwest. In forty-four days we arrived at a
new land, which we judged to be a continent, and a
continuation of that mentioned in my former voyage. It was
situated within the torrid zone, south of the equinoctial
line, where the south pole is elevated five degrees and
distant from said island, bearing south, about five hundred
leagues. Here we found the days and nights equal on the
27th of June, when the sun is near the tropic of Cancer.

"We did not see any people here, and, having anchored our
ships and cast off our boats, we proceeded to the land,
which we found to be inundated by very large rivers. We
attempted to enter these at many points, but from the
immense quantity of water brought down by them we could find
no place, after hard toiling, that was not over-flowed. We
saw many signs of the country's being inhabited, but as we
were unable to enter it we concluded to return to the ships
and make the attempt on some other part of the coast. We
raised our anchors accordingly, and sailed along southeast
by east, continually coasting the land which ran in that
direction. We found the currents so strong on this part of
the coast that they actually obstructed our sailing, and
they all ran from the southeast to the northwest. Seeing our
navigation was attended with so many inconveniences, we
concluded to turn our course to the northwest; and having
sailed some time in this direct