variety of birds and fruits. It has many metal mines, and a
population innumerable.

"Espanola is a wonderful island, with mountains, groves, plains, and
the country generally beautiful and rich for planting and sowing,
for rearing sheep and cattle of all kinds, and ready for towns and
cities. The harbours must be seen to be appreciated; rivers are
plentiful and large and of excellent water; the greater part of them
contain gold. There is a great difference between the trees,
fruits, and herbs of this island and those of Juana. In this island
there are many spices, and large mines of gold and other metals.

"The people of this island and of all the others which I have
discovered or heard of, both men and women, go naked as they were
born, although some of the women wear leaves of herbs or a cotton
covering made on purpose. They have no iron or steel, nor any
weapons; not that they are not a well-disposed people and of fine
stature, but they are timid to a degree. They have no other arms
excepting spears made of cane, to which they fix at the end a sharp
piece of wood, and then dare not use even these. Frequently I had
occasion to send two or three of my men onshore to some settlement
for information, where there would be multitudes of them; and as
soon as they saw our people they would run away every soul, the
father leaving his child; and this was not because any one had done
them harm, for rather at every cape where I had landed and been able
to communicate with them I have made them presents of cloth and many
other things without receiving anything in return; but because they
are so timid. Certainly, where they have confidence and forget
their fears, they are so open-hearted and liberal with all they
possess that it is scarcely to be believed without seeing it. If
anything that they have is asked of them they never deny it; on the
contrary, they will offer it. Their generosity is so great that
they would give anything, whether it is costly or not, for anything
of every kind that is offered them and be contented with it. I was
obliged to prevent such worth less things being given them as pieces
of broken basins, broken glass, and bits of shoe-latchets, although
when they obtained them they esteemed them as if they had been the
g