to this
southern quarter, as the direction of the island they call Samoet, where
the gold is. Martin Alonso Pinzon, captain of the caravel _Pinta_, on
board of which I had three of the Indians, came to me and said that one
of them had given him to understand very positively that the island might
be sailed round much quicker by shaping a N.N.W. course. I saw that the
wind would not help me to take the course I desired, and that it was fair
for the other, so I made sail to the N.N.W. When I was two leagues from
the cape of the island, I discovered a very wonderful harbor.[120-2] It
has one mouth, or, rather, it may be said to have two, for there is an
islet in the middle. Both are very narrow, and within it is wide enough
for a hundred ships, if there was depth and a clean bottom, and the
entrance was deep enough. It seemed desirable to explore it and take
soundings, so I anchored outside, and went in with all the ship's boats,
when we saw there was insufficient depth. As I thought, when I first saw
it, that it was the mouth of some river, I ordered the water-casks to be
brought. On shore I found eight or ten men, who presently came to us and
showed us the village, whither I sent the people for water, some with
arms, and others with the casks; and, as it was some little distance, I
waited two hours for them.

"During that time I walked among the trees, which was the most beautiful
thing I had ever seen, beholding as much verdure as in the month of May
in Andalusia. The trees are unlike ours as night from day, as are the
fruits, the herbs, the stones, and everything. It is true that some of
the trees bore some resemblance to those in Castile, but most of them are
very different, and some were so unlike that no one could compare them to
anything in Castile. The people were all like those already mentioned:
like them naked, and the same size. They give what they possess in
exchange for anything that may be given to them. I here saw some of the
ship's boys bartering broken bits of glass and crockery for darts. The
men who went for water told me that they had been in the houses of the
natives, and that they were very plain and clean inside. Their beds and
bags for holding things[121-1] were like nets of cotton.[121-2] The
houses are like booths, and very high, with good chimneys.[121-3] But,
among many villages that I saw, there was none that consisted of more
than from twelve to fifteen houses. Here they found that the marrie