opazes. He told
you this in my presence. Following the Pinzons and animated by the
spirit of imitation, other Spaniards have made long voyages toward the
south, following the track of their forerunners, such as Columbus,
and coasting, in my opinion, along the shores of Paria. These latter
explorers have collected cinnamon bark, and that precious substance
the fumes of which banish headaches, and which the Spaniards call
_Anime Album_.[18] I have learned nothing else worthy of your
attention; thus I will conclude my narration since you hasten me by
announcing your departure.

[Note 17: Pinzon obtained license to sell a quantity of brazil
wood to pay his debts, his creditors having seized the ships and their
cargoes.]

[Note 18: _Cassiam et hi fistulam pretiosumque illud ad capitis
gravidinem suo suffumigio tollendam quod Hispani animen album vocant
referre_.]

Nevertheless, to conclude my decade, listen still to some details
concerning the ridiculous superstitions of Hispaniola. If it is not
a decade in the style of Livy, it is only because its author, your
Martyr, has not been blessed, as he should have been according to the
theory of Pythagoras, with the spirit of Livy. You also know what
mountains in travail bring forth. These things are only the fancies
of the islanders; nevertheless, though fanciful, they are more
interesting than the true histories of Lucian, for they really do
exist in the form of beliefs, while the histories were invented as a
pastime; one may smile at those who believe them.

The Spaniards lived for some time in Hispaniola without suspecting
that the islanders worshipped anything else than the stars, or that
they had any kind of religion; I have indeed several times reported
that these islanders only adored the visible stars and the heavens.
But after mingling with them for some years, and the languages
becoming mutually intelligible, many of the Spaniards began to notice
among them divers ceremonies and rites. Brother Roman,[19] a hermit,
who went, by order of Columbus, amongst the caciques to instruct them
in the principles of Christianity, has written a book in the Spanish
language on the religious rites of the islanders. I undertake to
review this work, leaving out some questions of small importance. I
now offer it to you as follows:

It is known that the idols to whom the islanders pay public worship
represent goblins which appear to them in the darkness, leading them
into foolish e