the south, in the name,
he says, of the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, because then he would be on
a parallel with the land of the sierra of Loa[327-1] and cape of Sancta
Ana in Guinea, which is below the equinoctial line, where he says that
below that line of the world are found more gold and things of value; and
that after, he would navigate, the Lord pleasing, to the west, and from
there would go to this Espanola, in which route he would prove the theory
of the King John aforesaid; and that he thought to investigate the report
of the Indians of this Espanola who said that there had come to Espanola
from the south and south-east, a black people who have the tops of their
spears made of a metal which they call _guanin_, of which he had sent
samples to the Sovereigns to have them assayed, when it was found that of
32 parts, 18 were of gold, 6 of silver and 8 of copper.

Following this course to the south-west he commenced to find grasses like
those encountered in the direct way to these Indies; and the Admiral says
here that after having gone 480 miles which make 120 leagues, that at
nightfall he took the latitude and found that the North Star was in five
degrees. Yet it seems to me that he must have gone more than 200 leagues,
and that the text is in error because it is necessary to traverse more
than 200 leagues on that course from the Cape Verde Islands and Santiago
whence he started to put a ship within five degrees of the equator, as
any sailor will observe who will judge it by the map and by the latitude.
And he says that there, Friday, July 13, the wind deserted him and he
entered into heat so great and so ardent that he feared the ships would
take fire and the people perish. The ceasing of the wind and coming of
the excessive and consuming heat was so unexpected and sudden that there
was no person who dared to descend below to care for the butts of wine
and water, which swelled, breaking the hoops of the casks; the wheat
burned like fire; the pork and salted meat roasted and putrefied. This
ardent heat lasted eight days. The first day was clear with a sun which
burned them. God sent them less suffering because the seven following
days it rained and was clouded; however with all this, they could not
find any hope of saving themselves from perishing and from being burned,
and if the other seven days had been like the first, clear and with the
sun, the Admiral says here that it would have been impossible for a man
o