hor about a league and a half from the
shore, to which we went in our boats to see whether it were inhabited. We
accordingly found that it was full of inhabitants, who were worse than
beasts; though at our first landing we could not see any of the natives,
we yet saw by numerous traces on the shore that the country was very
populous. We took possession of this land for the king of Castile[2],
finding it in all appearance fertile and pleasant. This place is five
degrees beyond the equator to the south. After the ceremony of taking
possession, we returned to our ships; and as we required a supply of wood
and water, we went on shore next day for that purpose. While employed on
that service, we saw some natives on the top of a hill at some distance,
who could not be prevailed on to come towards us. They were all naked, and
of a similar colour and appearance with those we had seen in the former
voyages. As we had not been able to have any intercourse with the natives,
we left some bells, looking-glasses, and other trifles for them on the
ground, when we returned to our ships in the evening. When they saw us at
some distance from the shore, they came down from the hill to where we had
been, and shewed many tokens of surprise at the things we had left.

As we had only provided ourselves with water at this first trip, we
proposed going on shore next day, when we saw numbers of the natives
making several fires and smokes along the shore, as if inviting us to land.
Yet when we actually landed, though great numbers of people collected at
some distance, they could not be induced to join us, yet made signals for
us to go farther into the land along with them. On this account, two of
our men who were prepared for exposing themselves to such dangers[3], on
purpose to learn what kind of people these were, and whether they
possessed any spices or rich commodities, asked permission from the
commander of our ships to go with the natives, and took a number of
trinkets along with them for the purpose of barter. They accordingly set
off, engaging to return to the shore at the end of five days, and we
returned to the ships. Eight days elapsed without seeing any thing of our
men, during all which time many of the natives came down every day to the
beach, but would never enter into any intercourse with us. On the eighth
day we went again on shore, where we found that the natives were
accompanied by great numbers of their women; but as soon as we