our of him and his
brothers. For these reasons he embarked on Thursday the tenth of March
1496, with 225 Spaniards and thirty Indians in two caravels, the Santa
Cruz and the Nina, and sailed from Isabella about day-break. Holding his
course eastwards along the coast, he lost sight of the eastern point of
Hispaniola on Tuesday the twenty-second of March, keeping an easterly
direction as far as the wind would permit; but the wind for the most part
continuing from the east, and provisions falling short, by which the men
were much discouraged, he deviated southwards towards the Caribbee islands,
and anchored at Marigalante on Saturday the ninth of April. Although it
was not his custom to set sail from any port of a Sunday, yet as his men
muttered, saying that when in want of food it was not necessary to keep so
strictly to the observation of particular days, he therefore set sail next
day.

He next anchored at the island of Guadaloupe and sent the boats on shore
well armed. These were opposed by a great number of women, who came out of
a wood armed with bows and arrows and decorated with feathers; seeing whom
the people in the boats kept aloof, and sent two women of Hispaniola on
shore by swimming to parley with the natives; who, understanding that the
Christians only desired to have provisions in exchange for such
commodities as they had to barter, desired them to go with their ships to
the north side of the island where their husbands then were, who would
furnish them with what they wanted. The ships did accordingly, and sailing
close to the shore saw abundance of people, who came down to the sea-side
and discharged their arrows in vain against our people, setting up loud
cries, but their weapons all fell short. When our boats well armed and
full of men drew near the shore, the Indians retired into an ambush,
whence they sallied forth to hinder our people from landing; but terrified
by some discharges of cannon from the ships, they fled into the woods,
abandoning their houses and goods, when the Christians took and destroyed
all they found. Being acquainted with the Indian method of making bread,
they fell to work and made enough to supply their want, as they found
abundance of materials[5].

Among other things which they found in the Indian houses on this island,
were parrots, honey, wax, and iron, of which last they had hatchets[6]:
and they likewise found looms like those used in Europe for weaving
tapestry[7], in whi