ad open valleys, and the mountains are very
high; it does not appear that the grass is ever cut throughout the year.
I do not think they have any winter in this part, for at Christmas were
found many birds-nests, some containing the young birds, and others
containing eggs. No four-footed animal has ever been seen in this or any
of the other islands, except some dogs of various colors, as in our own
country, but in shape like large house-dogs;[296-2] and also some little
animals, in color and fur like a rabbit, and the size of a young rabbit,
with long tails, and feet like those of a rat; these animals climb up the
trees, and many who have tasted them, say they are very good to
eat:[296-3] there are not any wild beasts.

There are great numbers of small snakes, and some lizards, but not many;
for the Indians consider them as great a luxury as we do pheasants; they
are of the same size as ours, but different in shape. In a small adjacent
island[296-4] (close by a harbor called Monte Cristo, where we stayed
several days), our men saw an enormous kind of lizard, which they said
was as large round as a calf, with a tail as long as a lance, which they
often went out to kill: but bulky as it was, it got into the sea, so that
they could not catch it.[297-1] There are, both in this and the other
islands, an infinite number of birds like those in our own country, and
many others such as we had never seen. No kind of domestic fowl has been
seen here, with the exception of some ducks in the houses in Zuruquia;
these ducks were larger than those of Spain, though smaller than
geese,--very pretty, with flat crests on their heads, most of them as
white as snow, but some black.

We ran along the coast of this island nearly a hundred leagues,
concluding, that within this range we should find the spot where the
Admiral had left some of his men, and which we supposed to be about the
middle of the coast. As we passed by the province called Xamana, we sent
on shore one of the Indians, who had been taken in the previous voyage,
clothed, and carrying some trifles, which the Admiral had ordered to be
given him. On that day died one of our sailors, a Biscayan, who had been
wounded in the affray with the Caribbees, when they were captured, as I
have already described, through their want of caution. As we were
proceeding along the coast, an opportunity was afforded for a boat to go
on shore to bury him, the boat being accompanied by two caravels t