old that Cuba was an island, but of
so vast extent that nobody had ever sailed around it. He thereupon set
out to circumnavigate it and sailed from Cape Cruz northward into the
Gulf of Guacanabo. There he found a multitude of small islands, which he
named the Queen's Gardens, and there, remembering that Marco Polo and
Sir John Mandeville had both reported the coast of Asia to be fringed
with a crowded archipelago, he was again confirmed in his belief that he
was approaching the shore either of Cathay or of the Golden Chersonesus.

Navigation among these islands, however, was difficult, dangerous and
slow, particularly when tropical thunderstorms were raging, as they then
were almost daily, and it was with much relief that the expedition at
last reached the Cuban coast, probably at or near Santa Cruz del Sur.
There they were told that they were in the province of Ornofay; the
province which they had formerly visited, at Cape Cruz, was Macaca; and
to the west there lay the important province of Mangon, where they could
secure much fuller information on all subjects. They were again assured
that Cuba was an island, but so vast in extent that nobody could hope
ever to go around it. The mention of the province of Mangon again
stimulated the hopes and fancy of Columbus. He identified it with Mangi,
the southernmost and richest province of the Great Khan, and in this he
was confirmed by the fantastic statement of the natives, that the people
of Mangon had tails and wore long robes to conceal them! Columbus
recalled that Sir John Mandeville had related a similar story as
current among some tribes in Eastern Asia. He therefore set out with
renewed eagerness and expectation for the coast of Mangon.

Emerging from the archipelago, he sailed for many miles along the
southern coast of Cuba, through an open sea, with the mountain ranges of
Santa Clara at his right hand and at his left the open expanse of the
Caribbean, its intense blue attesting its depth. After passing the Gulf
of Xagua, however, there came a sudden change. The sea became shallow,
and thickly dotted with small islands, keys, and banks, while the water
was white as milk. The voyagers had crossed the Gulf of Cazones and were
among the Juan Luis Keys, where the water is shallow and where at times
the agitation of the water by storms causes it to be whitened and
rendered opaque with the calcareous deposit with which the sea floor is
there thickly covered. This character