leave, the admiral declared his
resolution to continue the voyage, or at least made a shew of doing so to
deter others from doing the like in future; but he allowed himself to be
prevailed on by some of the kindred and friends of the stragglers to stay
a little longer, and gave orders in the meantime for all the ships to
complete their wood and water, and for the people to wash their linens;
and he sent Captain Hojeda with forty men to look out for those who were
amissing, and to examine into the nature of the country. Hojeda found
mastick, aloes, sandal, ginger, frankincense, and some trees resembling
cinnamon in taste and smell, and abundance of cotton. He saw many falcons,
and two of them pursuing the other birds; also kites, herons, daws,
turtles, partridges, geese, and nightingales; and he affirmed, that in
travelling six leagues they had crossed twenty-six rivers, several of
which were very deep; but I am apt to believe, as the country was very
woody and uneven, that they had often crossed the same river. While the
party under Hojeda were admiring the beauties of the country, and other
parties were going about in all directions in search of the stragglers,
they returned to the ship on Friday the 8th of November without having
been met by any of those who looked for them. They excused themselves by
saying that they had lost their way in the woods; but to punish their
presumption, the admiral ordered the captain to be put in irons, and that
the rest should have their allowance of provisions retrenched. The admiral
then landed and went to some of the houses, where he saw all the
particulars which have been already mentioned; likewise abundance of
cotton, both spun and unspun, and looms for weaving, many human skulls
hung up, and baskets full of human bones. The houses in this island were
better, and more plentifully furnished with provisions and other things
used by the Indians, than any which he had seen in his first voyage.

On Sunday the 10th of November the admiral weighed anchor, standing with
the whole fleet towards the N.W. along the coast of Guadaloupe, and came
to an island which he named Monseratte on account of its height; and was
informed by the Indians on board that the Caribs had entirely dispeopled
it by devouring all the inhabitants. He thence proceeded by St Mary
Redonda, so named on account of its round and upright shape, insomuch,
that there seemed no possibility of getting up to it without ladders.