was, he found two fathoms of
water, no more. He sent the small caravel to see if there was an outlet
to the north, because, in front of the mainland and of the other which
he called Ysabeta, to the west, there appeared a very high and beautiful
island. The caravel returned, and said that they found a great gulf, and
in it four great openings which appeared small gulfs, and at the end of
each one a river. This gulf he named Golpho de las Perlas, although I
believe there are no pearls there. It appears that this was the inside
corner of all this great gulf,[350-1] in which the Admiral was going
enclosed by the mainland and the island of Trinidad; those four bays or
openings, the Admiral believed were four islands, and that there did not
appear to be a sign of a river, which would make all that gulf, of 40
leagues, of sea, all fresh; but the sailors affirmed that those openings
were mouths of rivers. And they say true, at least in regard to two of
these openings, because by one comes the great river Yuyapari and by the
other comes another great river which to-day is called the river of
Camari.[350-2]

The Admiral would have liked very much to find out the truth of this
secret, which was the cause of this great gulf being 40 leagues in length
by 26 in width, containing fresh water, which was a thing, he says, for
wonder, (and he was certainly right), and also to penetrate the secrets
of those lands, where he did not believe it to be possible that there
were not things of value, or that they were not in the Indies, especially
from having found there traces of gold and pearls and the news of them,
and discovered such lands, so many and such people in them; from which
the things there and their riches might easily be known; but because the
supplies he was carrying for the people who were in this Espanola, and
which he carried that they who were in the mines gathering gold might
have food, were being lost, which food and supplies he had gathered with
great difficulty and fatigue, he did not allow himself to be detained,
and he says that, if he had the hope of having more as quickly, he would
postpone delivering them, in order to discover more lands and see the
secrets of them; and finally he resolves to follow that which is most
sure, and come to this island, and send from it moneys to Castile to
bring supplies and people under hire, and at the earliest opportunity to
send also his brother, the Adelantado, to prosecute his disc