winter, for they live in the open air. Two rivers
traverse this region, flowing from the high mountains which border it.
The first, called Comoiaixa, flows towards the west and loses its name
where it empties into the Naiba. The second, called the Tirechetus,
flows east and empties into the Iunna.

When I passed the island of Crete on my journey to the Sultan,[4] the
Venetians told me that there was a similar region on the summit of
Mount Ida; this region, more than the rest of the island, produces
a better wheat crop. Protected by the impassable roads which led to
these heights, the Cretans revolted, and for a long time maintained an
armed independence against the Senate of Venice. Finally, when weary
of fighting, they decided to submit, and the Senate decreed their
country should remain a desert. All avenues leading to it were guarded
so that no one could go there without its consent.

[Note 4: _De Legatione Babylonica_.]

It was in that same year, 1502, that the Venetians again permitted
this district to be cultivated, but by labourers incapable of using
arms.

There is a district in Hispaniola called Cotoy, lying between the
provinces of Huhabo and Cahibo. It is a sterile country having
mountains, valleys, and plains, and is sparsely inhabited. Gold is
found there in quantities, but instead of being in the form of ingots
or grains, it is in solid masses of pure metal, deposited in beds of
soft stone in the crevices of the rocks. The veins are discovered by
breaking the rocks, and one such may be compared to a living tree, as
from its root or starting-point it sends forth branches through the
soft pores and open passages, right up to the summit of the mountains,
never stopping till it reaches the surface of the earth. Bathed in the
splendour of the atmosphere it brings forth its fruit, consisting of
grains and nuggets. These grains and nuggets are afterwards washed
away by the heavy rains and swept down the mountain, like all heavy
bodies, to be disseminated throughout the entire island. It is thought
the metal is not produced at the place where it is found, especially
if that be in the open or in the river beds. The root of the golden
tree seems always to reach down towards the centre of the earth,
growing always larger; for the deeper one digs in the bowels of the
mountain the larger are the grains of gold unearthed. The branches
of the golden tree are in some places as slender as a thread, while
others are a