ana_, or it may
have been a young alligator.--E.

[9] This is a most singularly mistaken account of the situation of the
coast of Paria, now Cumana or the Spanish main; which, beginning on
the east at the island of Trinidad, about lat. 10 deg. N. joins Carthagena
in the west about the same latitude, and never reaches above 12 deg. N.
Were it not that the author immediately afterwards distinctly names
the coast of Paria, the latitude of the text would lead us to suppose
that he had been exploring the northern coast of Cuba.--E.

[10] Even supposing Americus to have coasted along the whole northern
shore of South America, from Trinidad to Costa-rica, the distance does
not exceed twenty-three degrees of longitude, and the coast of Paria
or Cumana is scarce 15 degrees. The number of leagues, therefore, in
the text is greatly exaggerated, unless we suppose them only to have
been Italian miles.--E.

[11] The relation of this voyage is so exceedingly vague that we have no
means of determining any of the places which were touched at. From the
resemblance of the name in the text to Haiti, or Aiti, this island may
possibly have been Hispaniola.--E.

[12] The author affects classical names for modern fire-arms, naming what
we have translated hand-guns _balistae colubrinae_. Cannon are
sometimes called _tormenta bellica_, and at other times _machina
saxivoma_--E.

SECTION II.

_The Second Voyage of Americas Vespucius_.

We set sail from Cadiz on our second voyage on the 11th of May 1499,
taking our course past the Cape Verds and Canaries for the island of
_Ignis_, where we took in a supply of wood and water: Whence continuing
our voyage with a south-west wind for nineteen days, we reached a certain
undiscovered land, which we believed to be the continent, over against
that which we had explored in our former voyage, and which is situated in
the torrid zone upon the southern side of the equator, and in 5 deg. of south
latitude[1], being 500 leagues from the before-mentioned islands, to the
south-west. In this country we found the days and nights to be equal on
the 27th of June, when the sun was in the tropic of cancer[2]. We found
this country inundated and pervaded by large rivers, having a very verdant
appearance, with large tall trees, but with no appearance of any
inhabitants. Having anchored our ships, we went to land with some of our
boats,