ew the good treatment, all
wished to come to the ships. Those who had canoes came and they were
many, and to all we gave a good welcome and held friendly conversation
with them, giving them the things which pleased them." The Admiral asked
them questions and they replied, but they did not understand each other.
They brought them bread and water and some beverage like new wine; they
are very much adorned with bows and arrows and wooden shields, and they
almost all carry arrows poisoned.

Tuesday, August 7, there came an infinite number of Indians by land and
by sea and all brought with them bread and maize and things to eat and
pitchers of beverages, some white, like milk, tasting like wine, some
green, and some of different colors; he believes that all are made from
fruits. Most or all of it is made from maize but as the maize itself is
white or violet and reddish, it causes the wine to be of different
colors. I do not know of what the green wine is made. They all brought
their bows and poisoned arrows, very pointed;[343-1] they gave nothing
for beads, but would give as much as they had for hawks' bells, and asked
nothing else. They gave a great deal for brass. It is certain that they
hold this in high estimation and they gave in this Espanola for a little
brass as much gold as any one would ask, and I believe that in the
beginning it was always thus in all these Indies. They called it _turey_
as if it came from Heaven because they called Heaven _hureyo_.[343-2]
They find in it I do not know what odor, but one which is agreeable to
them. Here the Admiral says whatever they gave them from Castile they
smelled it as soon as it was given them. They brought parrots of two or
three kinds, especially the very large ones like those in the island of
Guadeloupe, he says, with the large tail. They brought handkerchiefs of
cotton very symmetrically woven and worked in colors like those brought
from Guinea, from the rivers of the Sierra Leona and of no difference,
and he says that they cannot communicate with the latter, because from
where he now is to Guinea the distance is more than 800 leagues; below he
says that these handkerchiefs resemble _almayzars_.[343-3] He desired, he
says, to take a half-dozen Indians, in order to carry them with him, and
says that he could not take them because they all went away from the
ships before nightfall.

But Wednesday, August 8, a canoe came with 12 men to the caravel and they
took them all,