[i]

ORIGINAL NARRATIVES
OF EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY

REPRODUCED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE
AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

General Editor, J. FRANKLIN JAMESON, Ph.D., LL.D.
DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH IN THE
CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON

THE NORTHMEN, COLUMBUS, AND CABOT
985-1503

[ii]

[iii]

ORIGINAL NARRATIVES
OF EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY

THE NORTHMEN
COLUMBUS AND CABOT
985-1503

THE VOYAGES OF THE NORTHMEN

EDITED BY
JULIUS E. OLSON

PROFESSOR OF THE SCANDINAVIAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES
IN THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

THE VOYAGES OF COLUMBUS
AND OF JOHN CABOT

EDITED BY
EDWARD GAYLORD BOURNE, Ph.D.

PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN YALE UNIVERSITY

WITH MAPS AND A FACSIMILE
REPRODUCTION

CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
NEW YORK

[iv]

Copyright, 1906, by
CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS

Printed in the United States of America

All rights reserved. No part of this book
may be reproduced in any form without
the permission of Charles Scribner’s Sons

[v]

GENERAL PREFACE TO THE ORIGINAL NARRATIVES OF EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY

At its annual meeting in December, 1902, the American Historical
Association approved and adopted the plan of the present series, and the
undersigned was chosen as its general editor. The purpose of the series
was to provide individual readers of history, and the libraries of
schools and colleges, with a comprehensive and well-rounded collection of
those classical narratives on which the early history of the United
States is founded, or of those narratives which, if not precisely
classical, hold the most important place as sources of American history
anterior to 1700. The reasons for undertaking such a project are for the
most part obvious. No modern history, however excellent, can give the
reader all that he can get from the ipsissima verba of the first
narrators, Argonauts or eyewitnesses, vivacious explorers or captains
courageous. There are many cases in which secondary narrators have quite
hidden from view these first authorities, whom it is therefore a duty to
restore to their rightful position. In a still greater number of
instances, the primitive narrations have become so scarce and expensive
that no ordinary library can hope to possess anything like a complete set
of the classics of early American history.

The series is to consist of such volumes as will illustrate the early
history of all the chief parts of the country, with an additional volume
of general index. The plan contemplates, not a body of extracts, but in
general the publication or republication of whole works or distinct parts
of works. In the case of narratives originally issued in some other
language than English, the best available translations will be used, or
fresh versions made. In a few instances, important narratives[vi] hitherto
unprinted will be inserted. The English texts will be taken from the
earliest editions, or those having the highest historical value, and will
be reproduced with literal exactness. The maps will be such as will give
real help toward understanding the events narrated in the volume. The
special editors of the individual works will supply introductions,
setting forth briefly the author’s career and opportunities, when known,
the status of the work in the literature of American history, and its
value as a source, and indicating previous editions; and they will
furnish such annotations, scholarly but simple, as will enable the
intelligent reader to understand and to estimate rightly the statements
of the text. The effort has been made to secure for each text the most
competent editor.

The results of all these endeavors will be laid before the public in the
confident hope that they will be widely useful in making more real and
more vivid the apprehension of early American history. The general editor
would not have undertaken the serious labors of preparation and
supervision if he had not felt sure that it was a genuine benefit to
American historical knowledge and American patriotism to make accessible,
in one collection, so large a body of pioneer narrative. No subsequent
sources can have quite the intellectual interest, none quite the
sentimental value, which attaches to these early narrations, springing
direct from the brains and hearts of the nation’s founders.

Sacra recognosces annalibus eruta priscis.

J. FRANKLIN JAMESON.

Carnegie Institution, Washington, D.C.

[vii]

NOTE

Special acknowledgments and thanks are due to the representatives of the
late Arthur Middleton Reeves, who have kindly permitted the use of his
translations of the Vinland sagas, originally printed in his Finding of
Wineland the Good, published in London by the Clarendon Press in 1890;
to the President and Council of the Hakluyt Society, for permission to
use Sir Clements Markham’s translation of the Journal of Columbus’s first
voyage, printed in Vol. LXXXVI. of the publications of that Society
(London, 1893), and that of Dr. Chanca’s letter and of the letter of
Columbus respecting his fourth voyage, by the late Mr. R. H. Major, in
their second and forty-third volumes, Select Letters of Columbus
(London, 1847, 1870); to the Honorable John Boyd Thacher, of Albany, for
permission to use his version of Las Casas’s narrative of the third
voyage, as printed by him in his Christopher Columbus (New York, 1904),
published by Messrs. G. P. Putnam’s Sons; to Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin and
Company for permission to use, out of the third volume of Winsor’s
Narrative and Critical History of America, the late Dr. Charles Deane’s
translation, revised by Professor Bennet H. Nash, of the second letter of
Raimondo de Soncino respecting John Cabot’s expedition; and to George
Philip and Son, Limited, of London, for permission to use the map in
Markham’s Life of Christopher Columbus as the basis for the map in the
present volume, showing the routes of Columbus’s four voyages.

[viii]

[ix]

CONTENTS

ORIGINAL NARRATIVES OF THE VOYAGES OF THE NORTHMEN

Edited by Professor Julius E. Olson

ORIGINAL NARRATIVES OF THE VOYAGES OF
COLUMBUS

Edited by Professor Edward G. Bourne

ORIGINAL NARRATIVES OF THE VOYAGES OF JOHN CABOT

Edited by Professor Edward G. Bourne

[xv]

MAPS AND FACSIMILE REPRODUCTION

[xvi]

[1]

ORIGINAL NARRATIVES OF THE VOYAGES OF THE NORTHMEN

[2]

[3]

INTRODUCTION

The important documents from Norse sources that may be classed as
“Original Narratives of Early American History” are the Icelandic sagas
(prose narratives) that tell of the voyages of Northmen to Vinland. There
are two sagas that deal mainly with these voyages, while in other
Icelandic sagas and annals there are a number of references to Vinland
and adjacent regions. These two sagas are the “Saga of Eric the Red” and
another, which, for the lack of a better name, we may call the “Vinland
History of the Flat Island Book,” but which might well bear the same name
as the other. This last history is composed of two disjointed accounts
found in a fine vellum manuscript known as the Flat Island Book
(Flateyjar-bok), so-called because it was long owned by a family that
lived on Flat Island in Broad Firth, on the northwestern coast of
Iceland. Bishop Brynjolf, an enthusiastic collector, got possession of
this vellum, “the most extensive and most perfect of Icelandic
manuscripts,” and sent it, in 1662, with other vellums, as a gift to King
Frederick III. of Denmark, where it still is one of the great treasures
of the Royal Library.

On account of the beauty of the Flat Island vellum, and the number of
sagas that it contained (when printed it made 1700 octavo pages), it
early attracted the attention of Old Norse collectors and scholars, and
hence the narrative relating to Vinland that it contained came to be
better known than the vellum called Hauk’s Book, containing the “Saga of
Eric the Red,” and was the only account of Vinland that received any
particular attention from the scholars of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries The Flat Island Book narrative[4] was also given first place in
Rafn’s Antiquitates Americanæ (Copenhagen, 1837). This ponderous volume
contained all the original sources, but it has given rise to much
needless controversy on the Norse voyages, for many of the author’s
conclusions were soon found to be untenable. He failed to winnow the
sound historical material from that which was unsubstantiated or
improbable. And so far as the original sources are concerned, it was
particularly unfortunate that he followed in the footsteps of seventeenth
and eighteenth century scholars and gave precedence to the Flat Island
Book narrative. In various important respects this saga does not agree
with the account given in the “Saga of Eric the Red,” which modern
scholarship has pronounced the better and more reliable version, for
reasons that we shall consider later.

The Flat Island Book consists of transcripts of various sagas made by the
Icelandic priests Jon Thordsson and Magnus Thorhallsson. Very little of
their lives is known, but there is evidence to show that the most
important portion of the copying was completed about 1380. There is,
however, no information concerning the original from which the
transcripts were made. From internal evidence, however, Dr. Storm of the
University of Christiania thinks that this original account was a late
production, possibly of the fourteenth century.4-1 It is, moreover,
evident that this original account was quite different from the one from
which the existing “Saga of Eric the Red” was made, so that we have two
distinct accounts of the same set of events, both separately derived from
oral tradition, a fact which, on account of the lack of harmony in
details, has been the source of much confusion, but which nevertheless
gives strong testimony concerning the verity of the Vinland tradition in
its general outlines.

The saga which has best stood the test of modern criticism, namely the
“Saga of Eric the Red,” has beyond this fact the[5] additional advantage of
having come down to us in two different vellums. The one is found in
Hauk’s Book, No. 544 of the Arne-Magnæan Collection in Copenhagen, and
the other is in No. 557 of the same collection. These two narratives (in
vellums 544 and 557) tell the same story. They are so closely allied that
the translation which appears in this volume has been made from a
collation of both texts, that of Hauk’s Book (544) having been more
closely followed.5-1 The Hauk’s Book text is clearly legible; No. 557
is not in such good condition.

Many facts in the life of Hauk Erlendsson, who with the assistance of two
secretaries made Hauk’s Book, are known. He was in 1294 made a “lawman”
in Iceland, and died in Norway in 1334. There are reasons for believing
that the vellum bearing his name was written a number of years before his
death, probably during the period 1310-1320. Hauk was particularly
interested in the “Saga of Eric the Red,” as he was descended from
Thorfinn Karlsefni, the principal character of the saga, a fact that
perhaps lends a certain authority to this version as against that of the
Flat Island Book. Hauk brings the genealogical data of the saga down to
his own time, which is not done in No. 557, one fact among others which
shows that 557 is not a copy of 544.

The early history of AM. 557 is not known. The orthography and hand
indicate that it was made later than Hauk’s Book, probably in the early
part of the fifteenth century. Vigfusson considered it a better text than
the Hauk’s Book version, though rougher and less carefully written.5-2
Other critics (Jonsson and Gering) consider 544 the safer text.

In regard to the date of composition of the archetype, it may be remarked
that both 544 and 557 speak of Bishop Brand “the Elder,” which
presupposes a knowledge of the second[6] Bishop Brand, whose accession
occurred in 1263. Before this date, therefore, the originals used in
making 544 and 557 could not have been written. But this mention of
Bishop Brand “the Elder” does not, we think, give an adequate basis for
fixing the date of the composition of the saga, as Dr. Storm believes,
who places it somewhere between 1263 and 1300, with an inclination toward
the earlier date. Dr. Finnur Jonsson,6-1 who accepts Dr. Storm’s
opinion in other respects, says on this point: “The classic form of the
saga and its vivid and excellent tradition surely carry it back to about
1200…. To assume that the saga was first written down about 1270 or
after, I consider to be almost an impossibility.” Nor does this
conservative opinion by Dr. Jonsson preclude the possibility, or even
probability, that written accounts of the Vinland voyages existed before
this date. John Fiske’s6-2 well-considered opinion of this same saga
(544 and 557) has weight: “Its general accuracy in the statement and
grouping of so many remote details is proof that its statements were
controlled by an exceedingly strong and steady tradition,—altogether too
strong and steady, in my opinion, to have been maintained simply by word
of mouth.” And Vigfusson,6-3 in speaking of the sagas in general, says:
“We believe that when once the first saga was written down, the others
were in quick succession committed to parchment, some still keeping their
original form through a succession of copies, others changed. The saga
time was short and transitory, as has been the case with the highest
literary periods of every nation, whether we look at the age of Pericles
in Athens, or of our own Elizabeth in England, and that which was not
written down quickly, in due time, was lost and forgotten forever.”

The absence of contemporary record has caused some[7] American historians
to view the narratives of the Vinland voyages as ordinary hearsay. But it
is important to remember that before the age of writing in Iceland there
was a saga-telling age, a most remarkable period of intellectual
activity, by means of which the deeds and events of the seething life of
the heroic age were carried over into the age of writing.7-1 The
general trustworthiness of this saga-telling period has been attested in
numerous ways from foreign records. Thus Snorri Sturlason’s “The Sagas of
the Kings of Norway,” one of the great history books of the world,
written in Iceland in the thirteenth century, was based primarily on
early tradition, brought over the sea to Iceland. Yet the exactness of
its descriptions and the reliability of its statements have been verified
in countless cases by modern Norwegian historians.7-2

With reference to the Vinland voyages, there is proof of an unusually
strong tradition in the fact that it has come down from two sources, the
only case of such a phenomenon among the Icelandic sagas proper. It does
not invalidate the general truth of the tradition that these two sources
clash in various matters. These disagreements are not so serious but that
fair-minded American scholars have found it “easy to believe that the
narratives contained in the sagas are true in[8] their general outlines and
important features.” It lies within the province of Old Norse scholarship
to determine which of the two Vinland sagas has the better literary and
historical antecedents. After this point has been established, the
truthfulness and credibility of the selected narrative in its details
must be maintained on the internal evidence in conjunction with the
geographical and other data of early America. And here American
scholarship may legitimately speak.

These sagas have in recent years been subjected, especially by Dr. Gustav
Storm of Christiania,8-1 to most searching textual and historical
criticism, and the result has been that the simpler narrative of Hauk’s
Book and AM. 557 is pronounced the more reliable account.8-2 In respect
to literary quality, it has the characteristics of the Icelandic sagas
proper, as distinguished from the later sagas by well-known literary men
like Snorri. Where it grazes facts of Northern history it is equally
strong. Thus, there is serious question as to the first sighting of land
by Biarni Herjulfson, who is mentioned only in the Flat Island narrative,
and nowhere else in the rich genealogical literature of Iceland, although
his alleged father was an important man, of whom there are reliable
accounts. On the other hand, the record of the “Saga of Eric the Red,”
giving the priority of discovery to Leif Ericson, can be collaterally
confirmed.8-3 The whole account of Biarni seems sus[9]picious, and the
main facts, viewed with reference to Leif’s discovery, run counter to
Northern chronology and history. There are, however, two incidental
touches in the Flat Island Book narrative, which are absent from the
other saga, namely, the observation concerning the length of the day in
Vinland, and the reference to finding “three skin-canoes, with three men
under each.” The improbabilities of the Flat Island Book saga are easily
detected, if one uses as a guide the simpler narrative of the “Saga of
Eric the Red,” the only doubtful part of which is the “uniped” episode, a
touch of mediaeval superstition so palpable as not to be deceptive.

Aside from such things as picking grapes in the spring, sipping sweet dew
from the grass, and the presence of an apparition, the Flat Island Book
account, when read by itself, with no attempt to make it harmonize with
the statements of the “Saga of Eric the Red” or other facts of
Scandinavian history, is a sufficiently straightforward narrative. The
difficulty begins when it is placed in juxtaposition to these facts and
statements. It should not be and need not be discarded, but in giving an
account of the Vinland voyages it must be used with circumspection. From
an historical standpoint it must occupy a subordinate place. If Rafn in
his Antiquitates Americanæ had given emphatic precedence to the saga as
found in Hauk’s Book and AM. 557, had left to American scholars the
Dighton Rock and the Newport Tower, and had not been so confident in the
matter of identifying the exact localities that the explorers visited, he
might have carried conviction, instead of bringing confusion, to American
scholars.

The general results of the work of the Norwegian scholar Dr. Storm,
together with a unique presentation of the original narratives, are
accessible in The Finding of Wineland (London, 1890 and 1895), by an
American scholar, the late Arthur Middleton Reeves. This work contains a
lucid account of the important investigations on the subject, photographs
of[10] all the vellum pages that give the various narratives, a printed text
accompanying these, page by page and line by line, and also translations
into English. There is one phase of the subject that this work does not
discuss: the identifications of the regions visited by the Northmen. Dr.
Storm, however, has gone into this subject, and is convinced that
Helluland, Markland, and Vinland of the sagas, are Labrador,
Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia.10-1 The sailing directions in the “Saga
of Eric the Red” are given with surprising detail. These, with other
observations, seem to fit Nova Scotia remarkably well. Only one thing
appears to speak against Storm’s view, and that is the abundance of
grapes to which the Flat Island Book account testifies. But coupled with
this testimony are statements (to say nothing of the unreliability of
this saga in other respects) that indicate that the Icelandic narrators
had come to believe that grapes were gathered in the spring, thus
invalidating the testimony as to abundance.

Whether the savages that the sagas describe were Indians or Eskimos is a
question of some interest. John Fiske10-2 believes that the explorers
came in contact with American Indians; Vigfusson, on the other hand,
believes that the sagas describe Eskimos. Here, however, the American has
the better right to an opinion.

On this point, it is of importance to call attention to the fact that the
Norse colonists in Greenland found no natives there, only vestiges of
them. They were at that time farther north in Greenland; the colonists
came in contact with them much later,—too late to admit of descriptions
of them in any of the classical Icelandic sagas, in which the Greenland
colonists play no inconspicuous part. Ari, the great authority on early
Norse history, speaking of the Greenland colonists,[11] says in his
Libellus Islandorum:11-1 “They found there men’s habitations both
east and west in the land [i.e., in both the Eastern and Western
settlements] both broken cayaks and stone-smithery, whereby it may be
seen that the same kind of folk had been there as they which inhabited
Vinland, and whom the men of Greenland [i.e., the explorers] called
Skrellings.”

A sort of negative corroboration of this is offered by a work of high
rank, the famous Speculum Regale, written in Old Norse in Norway in the
middle of the thirteenth century. It contains much trustworthy
information on Greenland; it tells, “with bald common sense,” of such
characteristic things as glaciers and northern lights, discusses the
question as to whether Greenland is an island or a peninsula, tells of
exports and imports, the climate, the means of subsistence, and
especially the fauna, but not one word concerning any natives. Moreover
Ivar Bardsen’s account11-2 of Greenland, which is entirely trustworthy,
gives a distinct impression that the colonists did not come into conflict
with the Eskimos until the fourteenth century.

There is consequently no valid reason for doubting that the savages
described in the sagas were natives of Vinland and Markland. But whether
it can ever be satisfactorily demonstrated that the Norse explorers came
in contact with Algonquin, Micmac, or Beothuk Indians, and just where
they landed, are not matters of essential importance. The
incontrovertible facts of the various Norse expeditions are that Leif
Ericson and Thorfinn Karlsefni are as surely historical characters as
Christopher Columbus, that they visited, in the early part of the
eleventh century, some part of North America where the grape grew, and
that in that region the colonists found savages, whose hostility upset
their plans of permanent settlement.[12]

According to the usually accepted chronology, Leif’s voyage from Norway
to Greenland (during which voyage he found Vinland) was made in the year
1000, and Karlsefni’s attempt at colonization within the decade
following. On the basis of genealogical records (so often treacherous)
some doubt has recently been cast on this chronology by Vigfusson, in
Origines Islandicae12-1 (1905). Vigfusson died in 1889, sixteen years
before the publication of this work. He had no opportunity to consider
the investigations of Dr. Storm, who accepts without question the first
decade of the eleventh century for the Vinland voyages. Nor do Storm’s
evidences and arguments on this point appear in the work as published.
Therefore we are obliged to say of Vigfusson’s observations on the
chronology of the Vinland voyages, that they stand as question-marks
which call for confirmation.

We are surprised, moreover, to find that Origines Islandicae prints the
Flat Island Book story first, apparently on account of the belief that
this story contains the “truer account of the first sighting of the
American continent” by Biarni Herjulfson.12-2 It is impossible to
believe that this would have been done, if the editors (Vigfusson and
Powell) had known the results of Dr. Storm’s work, which is not
mentioned. There is, furthermore, no attempt in the Origines Islandicae
to refute or explain away an opinion on AM. 557 expressed by the same
authorities, in 1879,12-3 to the effect that “it is free from grave
errors of fact which disfigure the latter [the Flat Island Book saga].”[13]
We are almost forced to the conclusion that a hand less cunning than
Vigfusson’s has had to do with the unfinished section of the work.

In regard to the extract from Adam of Bremen, which we print, it should
be observed that its only importance lies in the fact that it
corroborates the Icelandic tradition of a land called Vinland, where
there were grapes and “unsown grain,” and thus serves to strengthen faith
in the trustworthiness of the saga narrative. The annals and papal
letters that follow need no further discussion, we think, than that
contained in the annotations.

Besides the texts in Icelandic, already described, by Rafn, Reeves,
Vigfusson and Powell, and Storm, it may be mentioned that the Flat Island
text is given in Vol. I. of Flateyjar-bok, ed. Vigfusson and Unger,
Christiania, 1860. There are translations of both texts in Beamish,
Discovery of North America by the Northmen (London, 1841), in Slafter,
Voyages of the Northmen (Boston, 1877), and in De Costa, Pre-Columbian
Discovery of America by the Northmen (Albany, 1901). But most of these
are confused in arrangement, and the best is that by the late Mr. Reeves,
which by the kind consent of his representatives we are permitted to use
in this volume.

Julius E. Olson.

[14]

THE SAGA OF ERIC THE RED

Also Called The Saga Of Thorfinn Karlsefni14-1

The Saga of Eric the Red, also called the Saga of Thorfinn Karlsefni and
Snorri Thorbrandsson.14-2—Olaf was the name of a warrior-king, who
was called Olaf the White. He was the son of King Ingiald, Helgi’s son,
the son of Olaf, Gudraud’s son, son of Halfdan Whiteleg, king of the
Uplands-men.14-3 Olaf engaged in a Western freebooting expedition and
captured Dublin in Ireland and the Shire of Dublin, over which he became
king.14-4 He married Aud the Wealthy, daughter of Ketil Flatnose, son
of Biorn Buna, a famous man of Norway. Their son was called Thorstein the
Red. Olaf was killed in battle in Ireland, and Aud and Thorstein went
then to the Hebrides; there Thorstein married Thurid, daughter of Eyvind
Easterling, sister of Helgi the Lean; they had many children. Thorstein
became a warrior-king, and entered into fellowship with Earl Sigurd the
Mighty, son of Eystein the Rattler. They conquered Caithness and
Sutherland, Ross and Moray, and more than the half of Scotland. Over
these Thorstein became king, ere he was betrayed by the Scots, and was
slain there in battle. Aud was at Caithness when she heard of Thorstein’s
death; she thereupon caused a ship to be secretly built in the forest,
and when she was ready, she sailed out to the Orkneys. There she bestowed
Groa, Thorstein the Red’s daughter, in marriage; she was the mother of
Grelad, whom[15] Earl Thorfinn, Skull-cleaver, married. After this Aud set
out to seek Iceland, and had on board her ship twenty freemen. Aud
arrived in Iceland, and passed the first winter at Biarnarhöfn with her
brother, Biorn. And afterwards took possession of all the Dale country
between Dögurdar river and Skraumuhlaups river. She lived at Hvamm, and
held her orisons at Krossholar, where she caused crosses to be erected,
for she had been baptized and was a devout believer. With her there came
out [to Iceland] many distinguished men, who had been captured in the
Western freebooting expedition, and were called slaves. Vifil was the
name of one of these: he was a highborn man, who had been taken captive
in the Western sea, and was called a slave, before Aud freed him; now
when Aud gave homesteads to the members of her crew, Vifil asked
wherefore she gave him no homestead as to the other men. Aud replied,
that this should make no difference to him, saying, that he would be
regarded as a distinguished man wherever he was. She gave him Vifilsdal,
and there he dwelt. He married a woman whose name was…;15-1 their
sons were Thorbiorn and Thorgeir. They were men of promise, and grew up
with their father.15-2

Eric the Red finds Greenland.—There was a man named Thorvald; he was a
son of Asvald, Ulf’s son, Eyxna-Thori’s son. His son’s name was Eric. He
and his father went from Jaederen15-3 to Iceland, on account of
manslaughter, and settled on Hornstrandir, and dwelt at Drangar. There
Thorvald died, and Eric then married Thorhild, a daughter of Jorund,
Atli’s son, and Thorbiorg the Ship-chested, who had been married before
to Thorbiorn of the Haukadal family. Eric then removed from the North,
and cleared land in Haukadal, and dwelt at Ericsstadir by Vatnshorn. Then
Eric’s thralls caused a land-slide on Valthiof’s farm, Valthiofsstadir.
Eyiolf[16] the Foul, Valthiof’s kinsman, slew the thralls near Skeidsbrekkur
above Vatnshorn. For this Eric killed Eyiolf the Foul, and he also killed
Duelling-Hrafn, at Leikskalar. Geirstein and Odd of Jorva, Eyiolf’s
kinsmen, conducted the prosecution for the slaying of their kinsmen, and
Eric was, in consequence, banished from Haukadal. He then took possession
of Brokey and Eyxney, and dwelt at Tradir on Sudrey, the first winter. It
was at this time that he loaned Thorgest his outer daïs-boards;16-1
Eric afterwards went to Eyxney, and dwelt at Ericsstad. He then demanded
his outer daïs-boards, but did not obtain them. Eric then carried the
outer daïs-boards away from Breidabolstad, and Thorgest gave chase. They
came to blows a short distance from the farm of Drangar. There two of
Thorgest’s sons were killed and certain other men besides. After this
each of them retained a considerable body of men with him at his home.
Styr gave Eric his support, as did also Eyiolf of Sviney, Thorbiorn,
Vifil’s son, and the sons of Thorbrand of Alptafirth; while Thorgest was
backed by the sons of Thord the Yeller, and Thorgeir of Hitardal, Aslak
of Langadal and his son, Illugi. Eric and his people were condemned to
outlawry at Thorsness-thing. He equipped his ship for a voyage, in
Ericsvag; while Eyiolf concealed him in Dimunarvag, when Thorgest and his
people were searching for him among the islands. He said to them, that it
was his intention to go in search of that land which Gunnbiorn, son of
Ulf the Crow, saw when he was driven out of his course, westward across
the main, and discovered Gunnbiorns-skerries.16-2 He told them that he
would return again to his friends, if he should succeed in finding that
country. Thorbiorn, and Eyiolf, and Styr accompanied Eric out beyond the
islands, and they parted with the greatest friendliness; Eric said to
them that he would render them similar aid, so far as it might lie within
his power, if they should ever stand in need of his help. Eric[17] sailed
out to sea from Snaefells-iokul, and arrived at that ice-mountain which
is called Blacksark. Thence he sailed to the southward, that he might
ascertain whether there was habitable country in that direction. He
passed the first winter at Ericsey, near the middle of the Western
Settlement.17-1 In the following spring he proceeded to Ericsfirth, and
selected a site there for his homestead. That summer he explored the
western uninhabited region, remaining there for a long time, and
assigning many local names there. The second winter he spent at
Ericsholms beyond Hvarfsgnipa. But the third summer he sailed northward
to Snaefell,17-2 and into Hrafnsfirth. He believed then that he had
reached the head of Ericsfirth; he turned back then, and remained the
third winter at Ericsey at the mouth of Ericsfirth. The following summer
he sailed to Iceland, and landed in Breidafirth. He remained that winter
with Ingolf at Holmlatr. In the spring he and Thorgest fought together,
and Eric was defeated; after this a reconciliation was effected between
them. That summer Eric set out to colonize the land which he had
discovered, and which he called Greenland, because, he said, men would be
the more readily persuaded thither if the land had a good name.17-3[18]

Concerning Thorbiorn.—Thorgeir, Vifil’s son, married, and took to wife
Arnora, daughter of Einar of Laugarbrekka, Sigmund’s son, son of Ketil
Thistil, who settled Thistilsfirth. Einar had another daughter named
Hallveig; she was married to Thorbiorn, Vifil’s son, who got with her
Laugarbrekkaland on Hellisvellir. Thorbiorn moved thither, and became a
very distinguished man. He was an excellent husbandman, and had a great
estate. Gudrid was the name of Thorbiorn’s daughter. She was the most
beautiful of her sex, and in every respect a very superior woman. There
dwelt at Arnarstapi a man named Orm, whose wife’s name was Halldis. Orm
was a good husbandman, and a great friend of Thorbiorn, and Gudrid lived
with him for a long time as a foster-daughter. There was a man named
Thorgeir, who lived at Thorgeirsfell; he was very wealthy and had been
manumitted; he had a son named Einar, who was a handsome, well-bred man,
and very showy in his dress. Einar was engaged in trading-voyages from
one country to the other, and had prospered in this. He always spent his
winters alternately either in Iceland or in Norway.

Now it is to be told, that one autumn, when Einar was in Iceland, he went
with his wares out along Snaefellsness, with the intention of selling
them. He came to Arnarstapi, and Orm invited him to remain with him, and
Einar accepted this invitation, for there was a strong friendship
[between Orm and himself]. Einar’s wares were carried into a store-house,
where he unpacked them, and displayed them to Orm and the men of his
household, and asked Orm to take such of them as he liked. Orm accepted
this offer, and said that Einar was a good merchant, and was greatly
favored by fortune. Now, while they were busied about the wares, a woman
passed before the door of the store-house. Einar inquired of Orm: “Who
was that handsome woman who passed before the door? I have never seen her
here before.” Orm replies: “That, is Gudrid, my foster-child, the
daughter of Thorbiorn of Laugarbrekka.” “She must be a good match,” said
Einar; “has she had any suitors?” Orm replies: “In good sooth she has
been[19] courted, friend, nor is she easily to be won, for it is believed
that both she and her father will be very particular in their choice of a
husband.” “Be that as it may,” quoth Einar, “she is a woman to whom I
mean to pay my addresses, and I would have thee present this matter to
her father in my behalf, and use every exertion to bring it to a
favorable issue, and I shall reward thee to the full of my friendship, if
I am successful. It may be that Thorbiorn will regard the connection as
being to our mutual advantage, for [while] he is a most honorable man and
has a goodly home, his personal effects, I am told, are somewhat on the
wane; but neither I nor my father are lacking in lands or chattels, and
Thorbiorn would be greatly aided thereby, if this match should be brought
about.” “Surely I believe myself to be thy friend,” replies Orm, “and yet
I am by no means disposed to act in this matter, for Thorbiorn hath a
very haughty spirit, and is moreover a most ambitious man.” Einar replied
that he wished for nought else than that his suit should be broached; Orm
replied, that he should have his will. Einar fared again to the South
until he reached his home. Sometime after this, Thorbiorn had an autumn
feast, as was his custom, for he was a man of high position. Hither came
Orm of Arnarstapi, and many other of Thorbiorn’s friends. Orm came to
speech with Thorbiorn, and said, that Einar of Thorgeirsfell had visited
him not long before, and that he was become a very promising man. Orm now
makes known the proposal of marriage in Einar’s behalf, and added that
for some persons and for some reasons it might be regarded as a very
appropriate match: “thou mayest greatly strengthen thyself thereby,
master, by reason of the property.” Thorbiorn answers: “Little did I
expect to hear such words from thee, that I should marry my daughter to
the son of a thrall; and that, because it seems to thee that my means are
diminishing, wherefore she shall not remain longer with thee since thou
deemest so mean a match as this suitable for her.” Orm afterward returned
to his home, and all of the invited guests to their respective
households, while Gudrid remained behind with her father, and tarried at
home that[20] winter. But in the spring Thorbiorn gave an entertainment to
his friends, to which many came, and it was a noble feast, and at the
banquet Thorbiorn called for silence, and spoke: “Here have I passed a
goodly lifetime, and have experienced the good-will of men toward me, and
their affection; and, methinks, our relations together have been
pleasant; but now I begin to find myself in straitened circumstances,
although my estate has hitherto been accounted a respectable one. Now
will I rather abandon my farming, than lose my honor, and rather leave
the country, than bring disgrace upon my family; wherefore I have now
concluded to put that promise to the test, which my friend Eric the Red
made, when we parted company in Breidafirth. It is my present design to
go to Greenland this summer, if matters fare as I wish.” The folk were
greatly astonished at this plan of Thorbiorn’s, for he was blessed with
many friends, but they were convinced that he was so firmly fixed in his
purpose, that it would not avail to endeavor to dissuade him from it.
Thorbiorn bestowed gifts upon his guests, after which the feast came to
an end, and the folk returned to their homes. Thorbiorn sells his lands
and buys a ship, which was laid up at the mouth of Hraunhöfn. Thirty
persons joined him in the voyage; among these were Orm of Arnarstapi, and
his wife, and other of Thorbiorn’s friends, who would not part from him.
Then they put to sea. When they sailed the weather was favorable, but
after they came out upon the high-seas the fair wind failed, and there
came great gales, and they lost their way, and had a very tedious voyage
that summer. Then illness appeared among their people, and Orm and his
wife Halldis died, and the half of their company. The sea began to run
high, and they had a very wearisome and wretched voyage in many ways, but
arrived, nevertheless, at Heriolfsness in Greenland, on the very eve of
winter.20-1 At Heriolfsness lived a man named Thorkel. He was a man of
ability and an excellent husbandman. He received Thorbiorn and all of his
ship’s company, and entertained them well during the winter. At that time
there was a[21] season of great dearth in Greenland; those who had been at
the fisheries had had poor hauls, and some had not returned. There was a
certain woman there in the settlement, whose name was Thorbiorg. She was
a prophetess, and was called Little Sibyl. She had had nine sisters, all
of whom were prophetesses, but she was the only one left alive. It was
Thorbiorg’s custom in the winters, to go to entertainments, and she was
especially sought after at the homes of those who were curious to know
their fate, or what manner of season might be in store for them; and
inasmuch as Thorkel was the chief yeoman in the neighborhood, it was
thought to devolve upon him to find out when the evil time, which was
upon them, would cease. Thorkel invited the prophetess to his home, and
careful preparations were made for her reception, according to the custom
which prevailed, when women of her kind were to be entertained. A high
seat was prepared for her, in which a cushion filled with poultry
feathers was placed. When she came in the evening, with the man who had
been sent to meet her, she was clad in a dark-blue cloak, fastened with a
strap, and set with stones quite down to the hem. She wore glass beads
around her neck, and upon her head a black lamb-skin hood, lined with
white cat-skin. In her hands she carried a staff, upon which there was a
knob, which was ornamented with brass, and set with stones up about the
knob. Circling her waist she wore a girdle of touch-wood, and attached to
it a great skin pouch, in which she kept the charms which she used when
she was practising her sorcery. She wore upon her feet shaggy calf-skin
shoes, with long, tough latchets, upon the ends of which there were large
brass buttons. She had cat-skin gloves upon her hands, which were white
inside and lined with fur. When she entered, all of the folk felt it to
be their duty to offer her becoming greetings. She received the
salutations of each individual according as he pleased her. Yeoman
Thorkel took the sibyl by the hand, and led her to the seat which had
been made ready for her. Thorkel bade her run her eyes over man and beast
and home. She had little to say concerning all these. The tables were
brought forth in the[22] evening, and it remains to be told what manner of
food was prepared for the prophetess. A porridge of goat’s beestings was
made for her, and for meat there were dressed the hearts of every kind of
beast, which could be obtained there. She had a brass spoon, and a knife
with a handle of walrus tusk, with a double hasp of brass around the
haft, and from this the point was broken. And when the tables were
removed, Yeoman Thorkel approaches Thorbiorg, and asks how she is pleased
with the home, and the character of the folk, and how speedily she would
be likely to become aware of that concerning which he had questioned her,
and which the people were anxious to know. She replied that she could not
give an opinion in this matter before the morrow, after that she had
slept there through the night. And on the morrow, when the day was far
spent, such preparations were made as were necessary to enable her to
accomplish her soothsaying. She bade them bring her those women, who knew
the incantation, which she required to work her spells, and which she
called Warlocks; but such women were not to be found. Thereupon a search
was made throughout the house, to see whether any one knew this
[incantation]. Then says Gudrid: “Although I am neither skilled in the
black art nor a sibyl, yet my foster-mother, Halldis, taught me in
Iceland that spell-song, which she called Warlocks.” Thorbiorg answered:
“Then art thou wise in season!” Gudrid replies: “This is an incantation
and ceremony of such a kind, that I do not mean to lend it any aid, for
that I am a Christian woman.” Thorbiorg answers: “It might so be that
thou couldst give thy help to the company here, and still be no worse
woman than before; however I leave it with Thorkel to provide for my
needs.” Thorkel now so urged Gudrid, that she said she must needs comply
with his wishes. The women then made a ring round about, while Thorbiorg
sat up on the spell-daïs. Gudrid then sang the song, so sweet and well,
that no one remembered ever before to have heard the melody sung with so
fair a voice as this. The sorceress thanked her for the song, and said:
“She has indeed lured many spirits hither, who think it pleasant to hear
this song, those who were wont[23] to forsake us hitherto and refuse to
submit themselves to us. Many things are now revealed to me, which
hitherto have been hidden, both from me and from others. And I am able to
announce that this period of famine will not endure longer, but the
season will mend as spring approaches. The visitation of disease, which
has been so long upon you, will disappear sooner than expected. And thee,
Gudrid, I shall reward out of hand, for the assistance, which thou hast
vouchsafed us, since the fate in store for thee is now all made manifest
to me. Thou shalt make a most worthy match here in Greenland, but it
shall not be of long duration for thee, for thy future path leads out to
Iceland, and a lineage both great and goodly shall spring from thee, and
above thy line brighter rays of light shall shine, than I have power
clearly to unfold. And now fare well and health to thee, my daughter!”
After this the folk advanced to the sibyl, and each besought information
concerning that about which he was most curious. She was very ready in
her responses, and little of that which she foretold failed of
fulfilment. After this they came for her from a neighboring farmstead,
and she thereupon set out thither. Thorbiorn was then sent for, since he
had not been willing to remain at home while such heathen rites were
practising. The weather improved speedily, when the spring opened, even
as Thorbiorg had prophesied. Thorbiorn equipped his ship and sailed away,
until he arrived at Brattahlid.23-1 Eric received him with open arms,
and said that it was well that he had come thither. Thorbiorn and his
household remained with him during the winter, while quarters were
provided for the crew among the farmers. And the following spring Eric
gave Thorbiorn land on Stokkaness, where a goodly farmstead was founded,
and there he lived thenceforward.

Concerning Leif the Lucky and the Introduction of Christianity into
Greenland.—Eric was married to a woman named Thorhild, and had two sons;
one of these was named Thorstein, and the other Leif. They were both
promising men. Thorstein lived at home with his father, and there was not
at[24] that time a man in Greenland who was accounted of so great promise as
he. Leif had sailed to Norway,24-1 where he was at the court of King
Olaf Tryggvason. When Leif sailed from Greenland, in the summer, they were
driven out of their course to the Hebrides. It was late before they got
fair winds thence, and they remained there far into the summer. Leif
became enamored of a certain woman, whose name was Thorgunna. She was a
woman of fine family, and Leif observed that she was possessed of rare
intelligence. When Leif was preparing for his departure Thorgunna asked to
be permitted to accompany him. Leif inquired whether she had in this the
approval of her kinsmen. She replied that she did not care for it. Leif
responded that he did not deem it the part of wisdom to abduct so
high-born a woman in a strange country, “and we so few in number.” “It is
by no means certain that thou shalt find this to be the better decision,”
said Thorgunna. “I shall put it to the proof, notwithstanding,” said Leif.
“Then I tell thee,” said Thorgunna, “that I am no longer a lone woman, for
I am pregnant, and upon thee I charge it. I foresee that I shall give
birth to a male child. And though thou give this no heed, yet will I rear
the boy, and send him to thee in Greenland, when he shall be fit to take
his place with other men. And I foresee that thou wilt get as much profit
of this son as is thy due from this our parting; moreover, I mean to come
to Greenland myself before the end comes.” Leif gave her a gold
finger-ring, a Greenland wadmal mantle, and a belt of walrus-tusk. This
boy came to Greenland, and was called Thorgils. Leif acknowledged his
paternity, and some men will have it that this Thorgils came to Iceland in
the summer before the Froda-wonder.24-2 However, this Thorgils was
afterwards in Greenland, and there seemed to be something not altogether
natural about him before the end came. Leif and his com[25]panions sailed
away from the Hebrides, and arrived in Norway in the autumn.25-1 Leif
went to the court of King Olaf Tryggvason.25-2 He was well received by
the king, who felt that he could see that Leif was a man of great
accomplishments. Upon one occasion the king came to speech with Leif, and
asks him, “Is it thy purpose to sail to Greenland in the summer?” “It is
my purpose,” said Leif, “if it be your will.” “I believe it will be well,”
answers the king, “and thither thou shalt go upon my errand, to proclaim
Christianity there.” Leif replied that the king should decide, but gave it
as his belief that it would be difficult to carry this mission to a
successful issue in Greenland. The king replied that he knew of no man who
would be better fitted for this undertaking, “and in thy hands the cause
will surely prosper.” “This can only be,” said Leif, “if I enjoy the grace
of your protection.” Leif put to sea when his ship was ready for the
voyage. For a long time he was tossed about upon the ocean, and came upon
lands of which he had previously had no knowledge. There were self-sown
wheat25-3 fields and vines growing there. There were also those trees
there which are called “mausur,”25-4 and of all these they took
specimens. Some of the timbers were so large that they were used in
building. Leif found men upon a wreck, and took them home with him, and
procured quarters for them all during the winter. In this wise he showed[26]
his nobleness and goodness, since he introduced Christianity into the
country, and saved the men from the wreck; and he was called Leif the
Lucky ever after. Leif landed in Ericsfirth, and then went home to
Brattahlid; he was well received by every one. He soon proclaimed
Christianity throughout the land, and the Catholic faith, and announced
King Olaf Tryggvason’s messages to the people, telling them how much
excellence and how great glory accompanied this faith. Eric was slow in
forming the determination to forsake his old belief, but Thiodhild26-1
embraced the faith promptly, and caused a church to be built at some
distance from the house. This building was called Thiodhild’s Church, and
there she and those persons who had accepted Christianity, and they were
many, were wont to offer their prayers. Thiodhild would not have
intercourse with Eric after that she had received the faith, whereat he
was sorely vexed.

At this time there began to be much talk about a voyage of exploration to
that country which Leif had discovered. The leader of this expedition was
Thorstein Ericsson, who was a good man and an intelligent, and blessed
with many friends. Eric was likewise invited to join them, for the men
believed that his luck and foresight would be of great furtherance. He
was slow in deciding, but did not say nay, when his friends besought him
to go. They thereupon equipped that ship in which Thorbiorn had come out,
and twenty men were selected for the expedition. They took little cargo
with them, nought else save their weapons and provisions. On that morning
when Eric set out from his home he took with him a little chest
containing gold and silver; he hid this treasure, and then went his way.
He had proceeded but a short distance, however, when he fell from his
horse and broke his ribs and dislocated his shoulder, whereat he cried
“Ai, ai!” By reason of this accident he sent his wife word that she
should procure the treasure which he had concealed, for to the hiding of
the treasure he attributed his misfortune. Thereafter they sailed
cheerily out of Ericsfirth in high spirits over their plan. They[27] were
long tossed about upon the ocean, and could not lay the course they
wished. They came in sight of Iceland, and likewise saw birds from the
Irish coast.27-1 Their ship was, in sooth, driven hither and thither
over the sea. In the autumn they turned back, worn out by toil, and
exposure to the elements, and exhausted by their labors, and arrived at
Ericsfirth at the very beginning of winter. Then said Eric, “More
cheerful were we in the summer, when we put out of the firth, but we
still live, and it might have been much worse.” Thorstein answers, “It
will be a princely deed to endeavor to look well after the wants of all
these men who are now in need, and to make provision for them during the
winter.” Eric answers, “It is ever true, as it is said, that ‘it is never
clear ere the answer comes,’ and so it must be here. We will act now upon
thy counsel in this matter.” All of the men, who were not otherwise
provided for, accompanied the father and son. They landed thereupon, and
went home to Brattahlid, where they remained throughout the winter.

Thorstein Ericsson weds Gudrid; Apparitions.—Now it is to be told that
Thorstein Ericsson sought Gudrid, Thorbiorn’s daughter, in wedlock. His
suit was favorably received both by herself and by her father, and it was
decided that Thorstein should marry Gudrid, and the wedding was held at
Brattahlid in the autumn. The entertainment sped well, and was very
numerously attended. Thorstein had a home in the Western Settlement at a
certain farmstead, which is called Lysufirth. A half interest in this
property belonged to a man named Thorstein, whose wife’s name was Sigrid.
Thorstein went to Lysufirth, in the autumn, to his namesake, and Gudrid
bore him company. They were well received, and remained there during the
winter. It came to pass that sickness appeared in their home early in the
winter. Gard was the name of the overseer there; he had few friends; he
fell sick first, and died. It was not long before one after another fell
sick and died. Then Thorstein, Eric’s son, fell sick, and Sigrid, the
wife of Thorstein, his namesake; and one even[28]ing Sigrid wished to go to
the house, which stood over against the outer-door, and Gudrid
accompanied her; they were facing the outer-door when Sigrid uttered a
loud cry. “We have acted thoughtlessly,” exclaimed Gudrid, “yet thou
needest not cry, though the cold strikes thee; let us go in again as
speedily as possible.” Sigrid answers, “This may not be in this present
plight. All of the dead folk are drawn up here before the door now; among
them I see thy husband, Thorstein, and I can see myself there, and it is
distressful to look upon.” But directly this had passed she exclaimed,
“Let us go now, Gudrid; I no longer see the band!” The overseer had
vanished from her sight, whereas it had seemed to her before that he
stood with a whip in his hand and made as if he would scourge the flock.
So they went in, and ere the morning came she was dead, and a coffin was
made ready for the corpse; and that same day the men planned to row out
to fish, and Thorstein accompanied them to the landing-place, and in the
twilight he went down to see their catch. Thorstein, Eric’s son, then
sent word to his namesake that he should come to him, saying that all was
not as it should be there, for the housewife was endeavoring to rise to
her feet, and wished to get in under the clothes beside him, and when he
entered the room she was come up on the edge of the bed. He thereupon
seized her hands and held a pole-axe28-1 before her breast. Thorstein,
Eric’s son, died before night-fall. Thorstein, the master of the house,
bade Gudrid lie down and sleep, saying that he would keep watch over the
bodies during the night; thus she did, and early in the night, Thorstein,
Eric’s son, sat up and spoke saying that he desired Gudrid to be called
thither, for that it was his wish to speak to her: “It is God’s will that
this hour be given me for my own and for the betterment of my condition.”
Thorstein, the master, went in search of Gudrid, and waked her, and bade
her cross herself, and pray God to help her; “Thorstein, Eric’s son, has
said to me that he wishes to see thee; thou must take counsel with
thyself now, what thou[29] wilt do, for I have no advice to give thee.” She
replies, “It may be that this is intended to be one of those incidents
which shall afterward be held in remembrance, this strange event, and it
is my trust that God will keep watch over me; wherefore, under God’s
mercy, I shall venture to him and learn what it is that he would say, for
I may not escape this if it be designed to bring me harm. I will do this,
lest he go further, for it is my belief that the matter is a grave one.”
So Gudrid went and drew near to Thorstein, and he seemed to her to be
weeping. He spoke a few words in her ear, in a low tone, so that she
alone could hear them; but this he said so that all could hear, that
those persons would be blessed who kept well the faith, and that it
carried with it all help and consolation, and yet many there were, said
he, who kept it but ill. “This is no proper usage which has obtained here
in Greenland since Christianity was introduced here, to inter men in
unconsecrated earth, with nought but a brief funeral service. It is my
wish that I be conveyed to the church, together with the others who have
died here; Gard, however, I would have you burn upon a pyre, as speedily
as possible, since he has been the cause of all of the apparitions which
have been seen here during the winter.” He spoke to her also of her own
destiny, and said that she had a notable future in store for her, but he
bade her beware of marrying any Greenlander; he directed her also to give
their property to the church and to the poor, and then sank down again a
second time. It had been the custom in Greenland, after Christianity was
introduced there, to bury persons on the farmsteads where they died, in
unconsecrated earth; a pole was erected in the ground, touching the
breast of the dead, and subsequently, when the priests came thither, the
pole was withdrawn and holy water poured in [the orifice], and the
funeral service held there, although it might be long thereafter. The
bodies of the dead were conveyed to the church at Ericsfirth, and the
funeral services held there by the clergy. Thorbiorn died soon after
this, and all of his property then passed into Gudrid’s possession. Eric
took her to his home and carefully looked after her affairs.[30]

Concerning Thord of Höfdi.—There was a man named Thord, who lived at
Höfdi on Höfdi-strands. He married Fridgerd, daughter of Thori the
Loiterer and Fridgerd, daughter of Kiarval the King of the Irish. Thord
was a son of Biorn Chestbutter, son of Thorvald Spine, Asleik’s son, the
son of Biorn Iron-side, the son of Ragnar Shaggy-breeks. They had a son
named Snorri. He married Thorhild Ptarmigan, daughter of Thord the
Yeller. Their son was Thord Horse-head. Thorfinn Karlsefni30-1 was the
name of Thord’s son. Thorfinn’s mother’s name was Thorunn. Thorfinn was
engaged in trading voyages, and was reputed to be a successful merchant.
One summer Karlsefni equipped his ship, with the intention of sailing to
Greenland. Snorri, Thorbrand’s son, of Alptafirth accompanied him, and
there were forty men on board the ship with them. There was a man named
Biarni, Grimolf’s son, a man from Breidafirth, and another named
Thorhall, Gamli’s son, an East-firth man. They equipped their ship, the
same summer as Karlsefni, with the intention of making a voyage to
Greenland; they had also forty men in their ship. When they were ready to
sail, the two ships put to sea together. It has not been recorded how
long a voyage they had; but it is to be told, that both of the ships
arrived at Ericsfirth in the autumn. Eric and other of the inhabitants of
the country rode to the ships, and a goodly trade was soon established
between them. Gudrid was requested by the skippers to take such of their
wares as she wished, while Eric, on his part, showed great munificence in
return, in that he extended an invitation to both crews to accompany him
home for winter quarters at Brattahlid. The merchants accepted this
invitation, and went with Eric. Their wares were then conveyed to
Brattahlid; nor was there lack there of good and commodious store-houses,
in which to keep them; nor was there wanting much of that, which they
needed, and the merchants were well pleased with their entertainment at
Eric’s[31] home during that winter. Now as it drew toward Yule, Eric became
very taciturn, and less cheerful than had been his wont. On one occasion
Karlsefni entered into conversation with Eric, and said: “Hast thou aught
weighing upon thee, Eric? The folk have remarked, that thou art somewhat
more silent than thou hast been hitherto. Thou hast entertained us with
great liberality, and it behooves us to make such return as may lie
within our power. Do thou now but make known the cause of thy
melancholy.” Eric answers: “Ye accept hospitality gracefully, and in
manly wise, and I am not pleased that ye should be the sufferers by
reason of our intercourse; rather am I troubled at the thought, that it
should be given out elsewhere, that ye have never passed a worse Yule
than this, now drawing nigh, when Eric the Red was your host at
Brattahlid in Greenland.” “There shall be no cause for that,” replies
Karlsefni, “we have malt, and meal, and corn in our ships, and you are
welcome to take of these whatsoever you wish, and to provide as liberal
an entertainment as seems fitting to you.” Eric accepts this offer, and
preparations were made for the Yule feast, and it was so sumptuous, that
it seemed to the people they had scarcely ever seen so grand an
entertainment before. And after Yule, Karlsefni broached the subject of a
marriage with Gudrid to Eric, for he assumed that with him rested the
right to bestow her hand in marriage. Eric answers favorably, and says,
that she would accomplish the fate in store for her, adding that he had
heard only good reports of him. And, not to prolong this, the result was,
that Thorfinn was betrothed to Thurid,31-1 and the banquet was
augmented, and their wedding was celebrated; and this befell at
Brattahlid during the winter.

Beginning of the Wineland Voyages.—About this time there began to be
much talk at Brattahlid, to the effect that Wineland the Good should be
explored, for, it was said, that country must be possessed of many goodly
qualities. And so it came to pass, that Karlsefni and Snorri fitted out
their ship, for the purpose of going in search of that country in the
spring. Biarni[32] and Thorhall joined the expedition with their ship, and
the men who had borne them company. There was a man named Thorvard; he
was wedded to Freydis, a natural daughter of Eric the Red. He also
accompanied them, together with Thorvald, Eric’s son, and Thorhall, who
was called the Huntsman. He had been for a long time with Eric as his
hunter and fisherman during the summer, and as his steward during the
winter. Thorhall was stout and swarthy, and of giant stature; he was a
man of few words, though given to abusive language, when he did speak,
and he ever incited Eric to evil. He was a poor Christian; he had a wide
knowledge of the unsettled regions. He was on the same ship with Thorvard
and Thorvald. They had that ship which Thorbiorn had brought out. They
had in all one hundred and sixty men, when they sailed to the Western
Settlement,32-1 and thence to Bear Island. Thence they bore away to the
southward two “dœgr.”32-2 Then they saw land, and launched a boat,
and explored the land, and found there large flat stones [hellur], and
many of these were twelve ells wide; there were many Arctic foxes there.
They gave a name to the country, and called it Helluland [the land of
flat stones]. Then they sailed with northerly winds two “dœgr,” and
land then lay before them, and upon it was a great wood and many wild
beasts; an island lay off the land to the south-east, and there they
found a bear, and they called this Biarney [Bear Island], while the land
where the wood was they called Markland [Forest-land]. Thence they sailed
southward along the land for a long time, and came to a cape; the land
lay upon the starboard; there were long strands and sandy banks there.
They rowed to the land and found upon the cape there the[33] keel of a ship,
and they called it there Kialarnes [Keelness]; they also called the
strands Furdustrandir [Wonder-strands], because they were so long to sail
by.33-1 Then the country became indented with bays, and they steered
their ships into a bay. It was when Leif was with King Olaf Tryggvason,
and he bade him proclaim Christianity to Greenland, that the king gave
him two Gaels; the man’s name was Haki, and the woman’s Haekia. The king
advised Leif to have recourse to these people, if he should stand in need
of fleetness, for they were swifter than deer. Eric and Leif had tendered
Karlsefni the services of this couple. Now when they had sailed past
Wonder-strands, they put the Gaels ashore, and directed them to run to
the southward, and investigate the nature of the country, and return
again before the end of the third half-day. They were each clad in a
garment, which they called “kiafal,”33-2 which was so fashioned, that
it had a hood at the top, was open at the sides, was sleeveless, and was
fastened between the legs with buttons and loops, while elsewhere they
were naked. Karlsefni and his companions cast anchor, and lay there
during their absence; and when they came again, one of them carried a
bunch of grapes, and the other an ear of new-sown wheat. They went on
board the ship, whereupon Karlsefni and his followers held on their way,
until they came to where the coast was indented with bays. They stood
into a bay with their ships. There was an island out at the mouth of the
bay, about which there were strong currents, wherefore they called it
Straumey [Stream Isle]. There were so many birds33-3 there, that it was
scarcely possible to step between[34] the eggs. They sailed through the
firth, and called it Straumfiord [Streamfirth], and carried their cargoes
ashore from the ships, and established themselves there. They had brought
with them all kinds of live-stock. It was a fine country there. There
were mountains thereabouts. They occupied themselves exclusively with the
exploration of the country. They remained there during the winter, and
they had taken no thought for this during the summer. The fishing began
to fail, and they began to fall short of food. Then Thorhall the Huntsman
disappeared. They had already prayed to God for food, but it did not come
as promptly as their necessities seemed to demand. They searched for
Thorhall for three half-days, and found him on a projecting crag. He was
lying there, and looking up at the sky, with mouth and nostrils agape,
and mumbling something. They asked him why he had gone thither; he
replied, that this did not concern any one. They asked him then to go
home with them, and he did so. Soon after this a whale appeared there,
and they captured it, and flensed it, and no one could tell what manner
of whale it was; and when the cooks had prepared it, they ate of it, and
were all made ill by it. Then Thorhall, approaching them, says: “Did not
the Red-beard34-1 prove more helpful than your Christ? This is my
reward for the verses which I composed to Thor, the Trustworthy; seldom
has he failed me.” When the people heard this, they cast the whale down
into the sea, and made their appeals to God. The weather then improved,
and they could now row out to fish, and thenceforward they had no lack of
provisions, for they could hunt game on the land, gather eggs on the
island, and catch fish from the sea.

Concerning Karlsefni and Thorhall.—It is said, that Thorhall wished to
sail to the northward beyond Wonder-strands, in search of Wineland, while
Karlsefni desired to proceed to the southward, off the coast. Thorhall
prepared for his voyage out below the island, having only nine men in his
party, for all of the remainder of the company went with Karlsefni.[35] And
one day when Thorhall was carrying water aboard his ship, and was
drinking, he recited this ditty:35-1

And when they were ready, they hoisted sail; whereupon Thorhall recited
this ditty:35-2

Then they sailed away to the northward past Wonder-strands and Keelness,
intending to cruise to the westward around the cape. They encountered
westerly gales, and were driven ashore in Ireland,35-3 where they were
grievously maltreated and thrown into slavery. There Thorhall lost his
life, according to that which traders have related.

It is now to be told of Karlsefni, that he cruised southward off the
coast, with Snorri and Biarni, and their people. They[36] sailed for a long
time, and until they came at last to a river, which flowed down from the
land into a lake, and so into the sea. There were great bars at the mouth
of the river, so that it could only be entered at the height of the
flood-tide. Karlsefni and his men sailed into the mouth of the river, and
called it there Hop [a small land-locked bay]. They found self-sown
wheat-fields on the land there, wherever there were hollows, and wherever
there was hilly ground, there were vines.36-1 Every brook there was
full of fish. They dug pits, on the shore where the tide rose highest,
and when the tide fell, there were halibut in the pits. There were great
numbers of wild animals of all kinds in the woods. They remained there
half a month, and enjoyed themselves, and kept no watch. They had their
live-stock with them. Now one morning early, when they looked about them,
they saw a great number of skin-canoes,36-2 and staves were brandished
from the boats, with a noise like flails, and they were revolved in the
same direction in which the sun moves. Then said Karlsefni: “What may
this betoken?” Snorri, Thorbrand’s son, answers him: “It may be, that
this is a signal of peace, wherefore let us take a white shield and
display it.” And thus they did. Thereupon the strangers rowed toward
them, and went upon the land, marvelling at those whom they saw before
them. They were swarthy men,36-3 and ill-looking, and the hair of their
heads was ugly. They had great eyes,36-4 and were broad of cheek.[37] They
tarried there for a time looking curiously at the people they saw before
them, and then rowed away, and to the southward around the point.

Karlsefni and his followers had built their huts above the lake, some of
their dwellings being near the lake, and others farther away. Now they
remained there that winter. No snow came there, and all of their
live-stock lived by grazing.37-1 And when spring opened, they
discovered, early one morning, a great number of skin-canoes, rowing from
the south past the cape, so numerous, that it looked as if coals had been
scattered broadcast out before the bay; and on every boat staves were
waved. Thereupon Karlsefni and his people displayed their shields, and
when they came together, they began to barter with each other. Especially
did the strangers wish to buy red cloth, for which they offered in
exchange peltries and quite gray skins. They also desired to buy swords
and spears, but Karlsefni and Snorri forbade this. In exchange for
perfect unsullied skins, the Skrellings would take red stuff a span in
length, which they would bind around their heads. So their trade went on
for a time, until Karlsefni and his people began to grow short of cloth,
when they divided it into such narrow pieces, that it was not more than a
finger’s breadth wide, but the Skrellings still continued to give just as
much for this as before, or more.

It so happened, that a bull,37-2 which belonged to Karlsefni and his
people, ran out from the woods, bellowing loudly. This so terrified the
Skrellings, that they sped out to their canoes, and then rowed away to
the southward along the coast. For three entire weeks nothing more was
seen of them. At[38] the end of this time, however, a great multitude of
Skrelling boats was discovered approaching from the south, as if a stream
were pouring down, and all of their staves were waved in a direction
contrary to the course of the sun, and the Skrellings were all uttering
loud cries. Thereupon Karlsefni and his men took red shields and
displayed them. The Skrellings sprang from their boats, and they met
then, and fought together. There was a fierce shower of missiles, for the
Skrellings had war-slings. Karlsefni and Snorri observed, that the
Skrellings raised up on a pole a great ball-shaped body, almost the size
of a sheep’s belly, and nearly black in color, and this they hurled from
the pole up on the land above Karlsefni’s followers, and it made a
frightful noise, where it fell. Whereat a great fear seized upon
Karlsefni, and all his men, so that they could think of nought but
flight, and of making their escape up along the river bank, for it seemed
to them, that the troop of the Skrellings was rushing towards them from
every side, and they did not pause, until they came to certain jutting
crags, where they offered a stout resistance. Freydis came out, and
seeing that Karlsefni and his men were fleeing, she cried: “Why do ye
flee from these wretches, such worthy men as ye, when, meseems, ye might
slaughter them like cattle. Had I but a weapon, methinks, I would fight
better than any one of you!” They gave no heed to her words. Freydis
sought to join them, but lagged behind, for she was not hale;38-1 she
followed them, however, into the forest, while the Skrellings pursued
her; she found a dead man in front of her; this was Thorbrand, Snorri’s
son, his skull cleft by a flat stone; his naked sword lay beside him; she
took it up, and prepared to defend herself with it. The Skrellings then
approached her, whereupon she stripped down her shift, and slapped her
breast with the naked sword. At this the Skrellings were terrified and
ran down to their boats, and rowed away. Karlsefni and his companions,
however, joined her and praised her valor. Two of Karlsefni’s men had
fallen, and a great number of the Skrellings. Karlsefni’s party had been
overpowered by dint[39] of superior numbers. They now returned to their
dwellings, and bound up their wounds, and weighed carefully what throng
of men that could have been, which had seemed to descend upon them from
the land; it now seemed to them, that there could have been but the one
party, that which came from the boats, and that the other troop must have
been an ocular delusion. The Skrellings, moreover, found a dead man, and
an axe lay beside him. One of their number picked up the axe, and struck
at a tree with it, and one after another [they tested it], and it seemed
to them to be a treasure, and to cut well; then one of their number
seized it, and hewed at a stone with it, so that the axe broke, whereat
they concluded that it could be of no use, since it would not withstand
stone, and they cast it away.

It now seemed clear to Karlsefni and his people, that although the
country thereabouts was attractive, their life would be one of constant
dread and turmoil by reason of the [hostility of the] inhabitants of the
country, so they forthwith prepared to leave, and determined to return to
their own country. They sailed to the northward off the coast, and found
five Skrellings, clad in skin-doublets, lying asleep near the sea. There
were vessels beside them, containing animal marrow, mixed with blood.
Karlsefni and his company concluded that they must have been banished
from their own land. They put them to death. They afterwards found a
cape, upon which there was a great number of animals, and this cape
looked as if it were one cake of dung, by reason of the animals which lay
there at night. They now arrived again at Streamfirth, where they found
great abundance of all those things of which they stood in need. Some men
say, that Biarni and Freydis remained behind here with a hundred men, and
went no further; while Karlsefni and Snorri proceeded to the southward
with forty men, tarrying at Hop barely two months, and returning again
the same summer. Karlsefni then set out with one ship, in search of
Thorhall the Huntsman, but the greater part of the company remained
behind. They sailed to the northward around Keelness, and then bore to
the westward,[40] having land to the larboard.40-1 The country there was a
wooded wilderness, as far as they could see, with scarcely an open space;
and when they had journeyed a considerable distance, a river flowed down
from the east toward the west. They sailed into the mouth of the river,
and lay to by the southern bank.

The Slaying of Thorvald, Eric’s son.—It happened one morning, that
Karlsefni and his companions discovered in an open space in the woods
above them, a speck, which seemed to shine toward them, and they shouted
at it: it stirred, and it was a Uniped,40-2 who skipped down to the
bank of the river by which they were lying. Thorvald, a son of Eric the
Red, was sitting at the helm, and the Uniped shot an arrow into his
inwards. Thorvald drew out the arrow, and exclaimed: “There is fat around
my paunch; we have hit upon a fruitful country, and yet we are not like
to get much profit of it.” Thorvald died soon after from this wound. Then
the Uniped ran away back toward the north. Karlsefni and his men pursued
him, and saw him from time to time. The last they saw of him, he ran down
into a creek. Then they turned back; whereupon one of the men recited
this ditty:40-3

Then they sailed away back toward the north, and believed they had got
sight of the land of the Unipeds; nor were they disposed to risk the
lives of their men any longer. They concluded that the mountains of Hop,
and those which they had[41] now found, formed one chain, and this appeared
to be so because they were about an equal distance removed from
Streamfirth, in either direction.41-1 They sailed back, and passed the
third winter at Streamfirth. Then the men began to divide into factions,
of which the women were the cause; and those who were without wives,
endeavored to seize upon the wives of those who were married, whence the
greatest trouble arose. Snorri, Karlsefni’s son, was born the first
autumn, and he was three winters old when they took their departure. When
they sailed away from Wineland, they had a southerly wind, and so came
upon Markland, where they found five Skrellings,41-2 of whom one was
bearded, two were women, and two were children. Karlsefni and his people
took the boys, but the others escaped, and these Skrellings sank down
into the earth. They bore the lads away with them, and taught them to
speak, and they were baptized. They said, that their mother’s name was
Vætilldi, and their father’s Uvægi. They said, that kings governed the
Skrellings, one of whom was called Avalldamon, and the other
Valldidida.41-3 They stated, that there were no houses there, and that
the people lived in caves or holes. They said, that there was a land on
the other side over against their country, which was inhabited by people
who wore white garments, and yelled loudly, and carried poles before
them, to[42] which rags were attached;42-1 and people believe that this
must have been Hvitramanna-land [White-men’s-land], or Ireland the
Great.42-2 Now they arrived in Greenland, and remained during the
winter with Eric the Red.

Biarni, Grimolf’s son, and his companions were driven out into the
Atlantic,42-3 and came into a sea, which was filled with worms, and
their ship began to sink beneath them. They had a boat, which had been
coated with seal-tar; this the sea-worm does not penetrate. They took
their places in this boat, and then discovered that it would not hold
them all. Then said Biarni: “Since the boat will not hold more than half
of our men, it is my advice, that the men who are to go in the boat, be
chosen by lot, for this selection must not be made according to rank.”
This seemed to them all such a manly offer, that no one opposed it. So
they adopted this plan, the men casting lots; and it fell to Biarni to go
in the boat, and half of the men with him, for it would not hold more.
But when the men were come into the boat, an Icelander, who was in the
ship, and who had accompanied Biarni from Iceland, said: “Dost thou
intend, Biarni, to forsake me here?” “It must be even so,” answers
Biarni. “Not such was the promise thou gavest my father,” he answers,
“when I left Iceland with thee, that thou wouldst thus part with me, when
thou saidst, that we should both share the same fate.” “So be it, it
shall not rest thus,” answers Biarni; “do thou come hither, and I will go
to the ship, for I see that thou art eager for life.” Biarni thereupon
boarded the ship, and this man entered the boat, and they went their way,
until they came to Dublin in Ireland, and there they told this tale; now
it is the belief of most peo[43]ple, that Biarni and his companions perished
in the maggot-sea, for they were never heard of afterward.

Karlsefni and his Wife Thurid’s Issue.—The following summer Karlsefni
sailed to Iceland and Gudrid with him, and he went home to Reyniness. His
mother believed that he had made a poor match, and she was not at home
the first winter. However, when she became convinced that Gudrid was a
very superior woman, she returned to her home, and they lived happily
together. Hallfrid was a daughter of Snorri, Karlsefni’s son, she was the
mother of Bishop Thorlak,43-1 Runolf’s son. They had a son named
Thorbiorn, whose daughter’s name was Thorunn, [she was] Bishop
Biorn’s43-2 mother. Thorgeir was the name of a son of Snorri,
Karlsefni’s son, [he was] the father of Ingveld, mother of Bishop Brand
the Elder. Steinunn was a daughter of Snorri, Karlsefni’s son, who
married Einar, a son of Grundar-Ketil, a son of Thorvald Crook, a son of
Thori of Espihol. Their son was Thorstein the Unjust, he was the father
of Gudrun, who married Jorund of Keldur. Their daughter was Halla, the
mother of Flosi, the father of[44] Valgerd, the mother of Herra Erlend the
Stout, the father of Herra Hauk the Lawman. Another daughter of Flosi was
Thordis, the mother of Fru Ingigerd the Mighty. Her daughter was Fru
Hallbera, Abbess of Reyniness at Stad. Many other great people in Iceland
are descended from Karlsefni and Thurid, who are not mentioned here. God
be with us, Amen!

[45]

THE VINLAND HISTORY OF THE FLAT ISLAND BOOK45-1

A Brief History of Eric the Red.45-2—There was a man named Thorvald,
a son of Osvald, Ulf’s son, Eyxna-Thori’s son. Thorvald and Eric the Red,
his son, left Jaederen [in Norway], on account of manslaughter, and went
to Iceland. At that time Iceland was extensively colonized. They first
lived at Drangar on Horn-strands, and there Thorvald died. Eric then
married Thorhild, the daughter of Jorund and Thorbiorg the Ship-chested,
who was then married to Thorbiorn of the Haukadal family. Eric then
removed from the north, and made his home at Ericsstadir by Vatnshorn.
Eric and Thorhild’s son was called Leif.

After the killing of Eyiulf the Foul, and Duelling-Hrafn, Eric was
banished from Haukadal, and betook himself westward to Breidafirth,
settling in Eyxney at Ericsstadir. He loaned his outer daïs-boards to
Thorgest, and could not get these again when he demanded them. This gave
rise to broils and battles between himself and Thorgest, as Eric’s Saga
relates. Eric was backed in the dispute by Styr Thorgrimsson, Eyiulf of
Sviney, the sons of Brand of Alptafirth and Thorbiorn Vifilsson, while
the Thorgesters were upheld by the sons of Thord the Yeller and Thorgeir
of Hitardal. Eric was declared an outlaw at Thorsnessthing. He thereupon
equipped his ship for a voyage, in Ericsvag, and when he was ready to
sail, Styr and the others accompanied him out beyond the islands. Eric
told them, that it was his purpose to go in search[46] of that country which
Gunnbiorn, son of Ulf the Crow, had seen, when he was driven westward
across the main, at the time when he discovered Gunnbiorns-skerries; he
added, that he would return to his friends, if he should succeed in
finding this country. Eric sailed out from Snæfellsiokul, and found the
land. He gave the name of Midiokul to his landfall; this is now called
Blacksark. From thence he proceeded southward along the coast, in search
of habitable land. He passed the first winter at Ericsey, near the middle
of the Eastern Settlement, and the following spring he went to
Ericsfirth, where he selected a dwelling-place. In the summer he visited
the western uninhabited country, and assigned names to many of the
localities. The second winter he remained at Holmar by Hrafnsgnipa, and
the third summer he sailed northward to Snæfell, and all the way into
Hrafnsfirth; then he said he had reached the head of Ericsfirth. He then
returned and passed the third winter in Ericsey at the mouth of
Ericsfirth. The next summer he sailed to Iceland, landing in Breidafirth.
He called the country, which he had discovered, Greenland, because, he
said, people would be attracted thither, if the country had a good name.
Eric spent the winter in Iceland, and the following summer set out to
colonize the country. He settled at Brattahlid in Ericsfirth, and learned
men say, that in this same summer, in which Eric set out to settle
Greenland, thirty-five ships sailed out of Breidafirth and Borgarfirth;
fourteen of these arrived there safely, some were driven back and some
were lost. This was fifteen years before Christianity was legally adopted
in Iceland.46-1 During the same summer Bishop Frederick46-2 and
Thorvald Kodransson went abroad [from Iceland]. Of those men, who
accompanied Eric to Greenland, the following took possession of land
there: Heriulf, Heriulfsfirth, he dwelt at Heriulfsness; Ketil,
Ketils[47]firth; Hrafn, Hrafnsfirth; Solvi, Solvadal; Helgi Thorbrandsson,
Alptafirth; Thorbiorn Gleamer, Siglufirth; Einar, Einarsfirth; Hafgrim,
Hafgrimsfirth and Vatnahverfi; Arnlaug, Arnlaugsfirth; while some went to
the Western Settlement.

Leif the Lucky Baptized.—After that sixteen winters had lapsed, from
the time when Eric the Red went to colonize Greenland, Leif, Eric’s son,
sailed out from Greenland to Norway. He arrived in Drontheim in the
autumn, when King Olaf Tryggvason was come down from the north, out of
Halagoland. Leif put in to Nidaros with his ship, and set out at once to
visit the king. King Olaf expounded the faith to him, as he did to other
heathen men who came to visit him. It proved easy for the king to
persuade Leif, and he was accordingly baptized, together with all of his
shipmates. Leif remained throughout the winter with the king, by whom he
was well entertained.

Biarni goes in Quest of Greenland.—Heriulf was a son of Bard
Heriulfsson. He was a kinsman of Ingolf, the first colonist. Ingolf
allotted land to Heriulf between Vag and Reykianess, and he dwelt at
first at Drepstokk. Heriulf’s wife’s name was Thorgerd, and their son,
whose name was Biarni, was a most promising man. He formed an inclination
for voyaging while he was still young, and he prospered both in property
and public esteem. It was his custom to pass his winters alternately
abroad and with his father. Biarni soon became the owner of a
trading-ship, and during the last winter that he spent in Norway, [his
father] Heriulf determined to accompany Eric on his voyage to Greenland,
and made his preparations to give up his farm. Upon the ship with Heriulf
was a Christian man from the Hebrides, he it was who composed the
Sea-Rollers’ Song, which contains this stave:47-1

Heriulf settled at Heriulfsness, and was a most distinguished man. Eric
the Red dwelt at Brattahlid, where he was held in the highest esteem, and
all men paid him homage. These were Eric’s children: Leif, Thorvald, and
Thorstein, and a daughter whose name was Freydis; she was wedded to a man
named Thorvard, and they dwelt at Gardar, where the episcopal seat now
is. She was a very haughty woman, while Thorvard was a man of little
force of character, and Freydis had been wedded to him chiefly because of
his wealth. At that time the people of Greenland were heathen.

Biarni arrived with his ship at Eyrar [in Iceland] in the summer of the
same year, in the spring of which his father had sailed away. Biarni was
much surprised when he heard this news, and would not discharge his
cargo. His shipmates inquired of him what he intended to do, and he
replied that it was his purpose to keep to his custom, and make his home
for the winter with his father; “and I will take the ship to Greenland,
if you will bear me company.” They all replied that they would abide by
his decision. Then said Biarni, “Our voyage must be regarded as
foolhardy, seeing that no one of us has ever been in the Greenland Sea.”
Nevertheless they put out to sea when they were equipped for the voyage,
and sailed for three days, until the land was hidden by the water, and
then the fair wind died out, and north winds arose, and fogs, and they
knew not whither they were drifting, and thus it lasted for many
“dœgr.” Then they saw the sun again, and were able to determine the
quarters of the heavens; they hoisted sail, and sailed that “dœgr”
through before they saw land. They discussed among themselves what land
it could be, and Biarni said that he did not believe that it could be
Greenland. They asked whether he wished to sail to this land or not. “It
is my counsel” [said he], “to sail close to the land.” They did so, and
soon saw that the land was level, and covered with woods, and that there
were small hillocks[49] upon it. They left the land on their larboard, and
let the sheet turn toward the land. They sailed for two “dœgr” before
they saw another land. They asked whether Biarni thought this was
Greenland yet. He replied that he did not think this any more like
Greenland than the former, “because in Greenland there are said to be
many great ice-mountains.” They soon approached this land, and saw that
it was a flat and wooded country. The fair wind failed them then, and the
crew took counsel together, and concluded that it would be wise to land
there, but Biarni would not consent to this. They alleged that they were
in need of both wood and water. “Ye have no lack of either of these,”
says Biarni—a course, forsooth, which won him blame among his shipmates.
He bade them hoist sail, which they did, and turning the prow from the
land they sailed out upon the high seas, with southwesterly gales, for
three “dœgr,” when they saw the third land; this land was high and
mountainous, with ice-mountains upon it. They asked Biarni then whether
he would land there, and he replied that he was not disposed to do so,
“because this land does not appear to me to offer any attractions.” Nor
did they lower their sail, but held their course off the land, and saw
that it was an island. They left this land astern, and held out to sea
with the same fair wind. The wind waxed amain, and Biarni directed them
to reef, and not to sail at a speed unbefitting their ship and rigging.
They sailed now for four “dœgr,” when they saw the fourth land. Again
they asked Biarni whether he thought this could be Greenland or not.
Biarni answers, “This is likest Greenland, according to that which has
been reported to me concerning it, and here we will steer to the land.”
They directed their course thither, and landed in the evening, below a
cape upon which there was a boat, and there, upon this cape, dwelt
Heriulf,49-1 Biarni’s father, whence the cape took its name, and was
afterwards called Her[50]iulfsness. Biarni now went to his father, gave up
his voyaging, and remained with his father while Heriulf lived, and
continued to live there after his father.

Here begins the Brief History of the Greenlanders.—Next to this is now
to be told how Biarni Heriulfsson came out from Greenland on a visit to
Earl Eric,50-1 by whom he was well received. Biarni gave an account of
his travels [upon the occasion] when he saw the lands, and the people
thought that he had been lacking in enterprise, since he had no report to
give concerning these countries, and the fact brought him reproach.
Biarni was appointed one of the Earl’s men, and went out to Greenland the
following summer. There was now much talk about voyages of discovery.
Leif, the son of Eric the Red, of Brattahlid, visited Biarni Heriulfsson
and bought a ship of him, and collected a crew, until they formed
altogether a company of thirty-five men. Leif invited his father, Eric,
to become the leader of the expedition, but Eric declined, saying that he
was then stricken in years, and adding that he was less able to endure
the exposure of sea-life than he had been. Leif replied that he would
nevertheless be the one who would be most apt to bring good luck, and
Eric yielded to Leif’s solicitation, and rode from home when they were
ready to sail. When he was but a short distance from the ship, the horse
which Eric was riding stumbled, and he was thrown from his back and
wounded his foot, whereupon he exclaimed, “It is not designed for me to
discover more lands than the one in which we are now living, nor can we
now continue longer together.” Eric returned home to Brattahlid, and Leif
pursued his way to the ship with his companions, thirty-five men; one of
the company was a German named Tyrker. They put the ship in order, and
when they were ready, they sailed out to sea, and found first that land
which Biarni and his ship-mates found last. They sailed up to the land
and cast anchor, and launched a boat and went ashore, and saw no grass
there; great ice mountains lay inland back from the sea, and it was as a
[tableland of] flat rock all the way from the sea to the ice moun[51]tains,
and the country seemed to them to be entirely devoid of good qualities.
Then said Leif, “It has not come to pass with us in regard to this land
as with Biarni, that we have not gone upon it. To this country I will now
give a name, and call it Helluland.” They returned to the ship, put out
to sea, and found a second land. They sailed again to the land, and came
to anchor, and launched the boat, and went ashore. This was a level
wooded land, and there were broad stretches of white sand, where they
went, and the land was level by the sea. Then said Leif, “This land shall
have a name after its nature, and we will call it Markland.” They
returned to the ship forthwith, and sailed away upon the main with
north-east winds, and were out two “dœgr” before they sighted land.
They sailed toward this land, and came to an island which lay to the
northward off the land. There they went ashore and looked about them, the
weather being fine, and they observed that there was dew upon the grass,
and it so happened that they touched the dew with their hands, and
touched their hands to their mouths, and it seemed to them that they had
never before tasted anything so sweet as this. They went aboard their
ship again and sailed into a certain sound, which lay between the island
and a cape, which jutted out from the land on the north, and they stood
in westering past the cape. At ebb-tide there were broad reaches of
shallow water there, and they ran their ship aground there, and it was a
long distance from the ship to the ocean; yet were they so anxious to go
ashore that they could not wait until the tide should rise under their
ship, but hastened to the land, where a certain river flows out from a
lake. As soon as the tide rose beneath their ship, however, they took the
boat and rowed to the ship, which they conveyed up the river, and so into
the lake, where they cast anchor and carried their hammocks ashore from
the ship, and built themselves booths there. They afterwards determined
to establish themselves there for the winter, and they accordingly built
a large house. There was no lack of salmon there either in the river or
in the lake, and larger salmon than they had ever seen before. The
country[52] thereabouts seemed to be possessed of such good qualities that
cattle would need no fodder there during the winters. There was no frost
there in the winters, and the grass withered but little. The days and
nights there were of more nearly equal length than in Greenland or
Iceland. On the shortest day of winter the sun was up between
“eyktarstad” and “dagmalastad.”52-1 When they had completed their house
Leif said to his companions, “I propose now to divide our company into
two groups, and to set about an exploration of the country; one half of
our party shall remain at home at the house, while the other half shall
investigate the land, and they must not go beyond a point from which they
can return home the same evening, and are not to separate [from each
other.]” Thus they did for a time; Leif himself, by turns, joined the
exploring party or remained behind at the house. Leif was a large and
powerful man, and of a most imposing bearing, a man of sagacity, and a
very just man in all things.

Leif the Lucky finds Men upon a Skerry at Sea.—It was discovered one
evening that one of their company was missing, and this proved to be
Tyrker, the German. Leif was sorely troubled by this, for Tyrker had
lived with Leif and his father for a long time, and had been very devoted
to Leif, when he was a child. Leif severely reprimanded his companions,
and prepared to go in search of him, taking twelve men with him. They had
proceeded but a short distance from the house, when they were met by
Tyrker, whom they received most cordially. Leif observed at once that his
foster-father was in lively spirits. Tyrker had a prominent forehead,
restless eyes, small features,[53] was diminutive in stature, and rather a
sorry-looking individual withal, but was, nevertheless, a most capable
handicraftsman. Leif addressed him, and asked: “Wherefore art thou so
belated foster-father mine, and astray from the others?” In the beginning
Tyrker spoke for some time in German, rolling his eyes and grinning, and
they could not understand him; but after a time he addressed them in the
Northern tongue: “I did not go much further [than you], and yet I have
something of novelty to relate. I have found vines and grapes.” “Is this
indeed true, foster-father?” said Leif. “Of a certainty it is true,”
quoth he, “for I was born where there is no lack of either grapes or
vines.” They slept the night through, and on the morrow Leif said to his
shipmates: “We will now divide our labors, and each day will either
gather grapes or cut vines and fell trees, so as to obtain a cargo of
these for my ship.” They acted upon this advice, and it is said, that
their after-boat was filled with grapes. A cargo sufficient for the ship
was cut, and when the spring came, they made their ship ready, and sailed
away; and from its products Leif gave the land a name, and called it
Wineland. They sailed out to sea, and had fair winds until they sighted
Greenland, and the fells below the glaciers; then one of the men spoke
up, and said, “Why do you steer the ship so much into the wind?” Leif
answers: “I have my mind upon my steering, but on other matters as well.
Do ye not see anything out of the common?” They replied, that they saw
nothing strange. “I do not know,” says Leif, “whether it is a ship or a
skerry that I see.” Now they saw it, and said, that it must be a skerry;
but he was so much keener of sight than they, that he was able to discern
men upon the skerry. “I think it best to tack,” says Leif, “so that we
may draw near to them, that we may be able to render them assistance, if
they should stand in need of it; and if they should not be peaceably
disposed, we shall still have better command of the situation than they.”
They approached the skerry, and lowering their sail, cast anchor, and
launched a second small boat, which they had brought with them. Tyrker
inquired who was the leader of the party.[54] He replied that his name was
Thori, and that he was a Norseman; “but what is thy name?” Leif gave his
name. “Art thou a son of Eric the Red of Brattahlid?” says he. Leif
responded that he was. “It is now my wish,” says Leif, “to take you all
into my ship, and likewise so much of your possessions as the ship will
hold.” This offer was accepted, and [with their ship] thus laden, they
held away to Ericsfirth, and sailed until they arrived at Brattahlid.
Having discharged the cargo, Leif invited Thori, with his wife, Gudrid,
and three others, to make their home with him, and procured quarters for
the other members of the crew, both for his own and Thori’s men. Leif
rescued fifteen persons from the skerry. He was afterward called Leif the
Lucky. Leif had now goodly store both of property and honor. There was
serious illness that winter in Thori’s party, and Thori and a great
number of his people died. Eric the Red also died that winter. There was
now much talk about Leif’s Wineland journey, and his brother, Thorvald,
held that the country had not been sufficiently explored. Thereupon Leif
said to Thorvald: “If it be thy will, brother, thou mayest go to Wineland
with my ship, but I wish the ship first to fetch the wood, which Thori
had upon the skerry.” And so it was done.

Thorvald goes to Wineland.—Now Thorvald, with the advice of his
brother, Leif, prepared to make this voyage with thirty men. They put
their ship in order, and sailed out to sea; and there is no account of
their voyage before their arrival at Leif’s-booths in Wineland. They laid
up their ship there, and remained there quietly during the winter,
supplying themselves with food by fishing. In the spring, however,
Thorvald said that they should put their ship in order, and that a few
men should take the after-boat, and proceed along the western coast, and
explore [the region] thereabouts during the summer. They found it a fair,
well-wooded country; it was but a short distance from the woods to the
sea, and [there were] white sands, as well as great numbers of islands
and shallows. They found neither dwelling of man nor lair of beast; but
in one of the westerly islands, they found a wooden building for[55] the
shelter of grain. They found no other trace of human handiwork, and they
turned back, and arrived at Leif’s-booths in the autumn. The following
summer Thorvald set out toward the east with the ship, and along the
northern coast. They were met by a high wind off a certain promontory,
and were driven ashore there, and damaged the keel of their ship, and
were compelled to remain there for a long time and repair the injury to
their vessel. Then said Thorvald to his companions: “I propose that we
raise the keel upon this cape, and call it Keelness,” and so they did.
Then they sailed away, to the eastward off the land, and into the mouth
of the adjoining firth, and to a headland, which projected into the sea
there, and which was entirely covered with woods. They found an anchorage
for their ship, and put out the gangway to the land, and Thorvald and all
of his companions went ashore. “It is a fair region here,” said he, “and
here I should like to make my home.” They then returned to the ship, and
discovered on the sands, in beyond the headland, three mounds; they went
up to these, and saw that they were three skin-canoes, with three men
under each. They thereupon divided their party, and succeeded in seizing
all of the men but one, who escaped with his canoe. They killed the eight
men, and then ascended the headland again, and looked about them, and
discovered within the firth certain hillocks, which they concluded must
be habitations. They were then so overpowered with sleep that they could
not keep awake, and all fell into a [heavy] slumber, from which they were
awakened by the sound of a cry uttered above them; and the words of the
cry were these: “Awake, Thorvald, thou and all thy company, if thou
wouldst save thy life; and board thy ship with all thy men, and sail with
all speed from the land!” A countless number of skin-canoes then advanced
toward them from the inner part of the firth, whereupon Thorvald
exclaimed: “We must put out the war-boards, on both sides of the ship,
and defend ourselves to the best of our ability, but offer little
attack.” This they did, and the Skrellings, after they had shot at them
for a time, fled precipitately, each as best he could. Thorvald then
in[56]quired of his men, whether any of them had been wounded, and they
informed him that no one of them had received a wound. “I have been
wounded in my arm-pit,” says he; “an arrow flew in between the gunwale
and the shield, below my arm. Here is the shaft, and it will bring me to
my end! I counsel you now to retrace your way with the utmost speed. But
me ye shall convey to that headland which seemed to me to offer so
pleasant a dwelling-place; thus it may be fulfilled, that the truth
sprang to my lips, when I expressed the wish to abide there for a time.
Ye shall bury me there, and place a cross at my head, and another at my
feet, and call it Crossness for ever after.” At that time Christianity
had obtained in Greenland; Eric the Red died, however, before [the
introduction of] Christianity.

Thorvald died, and when they had carried out his injunctions, they took
their departure, and rejoined their companions, and they told each other
of the experiences which had befallen them. They remained there during
the winter, and gathered grapes and wood with which to freight the ship.
In the following spring they returned to Greenland, and arrived with
their ship in Ericsfirth, where they were able to recount great tidings
to Leif.

Thorstein Ericsson dies in the Western Settlement.—In the meantime it
had come to pass in Greenland, that Thorstein of Ericsfirth had married,
and taken to wife Gudrid, Thorbiorn’s daughter, [she] who had been the
spouse of Thori Eastman,56-1 as has been already related. Now Thorstein
Ericsson, being minded to make the voyage to Wineland after the body of
his brother, Thorvald, equipped the same ship, and selected a crew of
twenty-five men of good size and strength, and taking with him his wife,
Gudrid, when all was in readiness, they sailed out into the open ocean,
and out of sight of land. They were driven hither and thither over the
sea all that sum[57]mer, and lost all reckoning, and at the end of the first
week of winter they made the land at Lysufirth in Greenland, in the
Western Settlement. Thorstein set out in search of quarters for his crew,
and succeeded in procuring homes for all of his shipmates; but he and his
wife were unprovided for, and remained together upon the ship for two or
more days. At this time Christianity was still in its infancy in
Greenland. It befell early one morning, that men came to their tent, and
the leader inquired who the people were within the tent. Thorstein
replies: “We are twain,” says he; “but who is it who asks?” “My name is
Thorstein, and I am known as Thorstein the Swarthy, and my errand hither
is to offer you two, husband and wife, a home with me.” Thorstein
replied, that he would consult with his wife, and she bidding him decide,
he accepted the invitation. “I will come after you on the morrow with a
sumpter-horse, for I am not lacking in means wherewith to provide for you
both, although it will be lonely living with me, since there are but two
of us, my wife and myself, for I, forsooth, am a very hard man to get on
with; moreover, my faith is not the same as yours, albeit methinks that
is the better to which you hold.” He returned for them on the morrow,
with the beast, and they took up their home with Thorstein the Swarthy,
and were well treated by him. Gudrid was a woman of fine presence, and a
clever woman, and very happy in adapting herself to strangers.

Early in the winter Thorstein Ericsson’s party was visited by sickness,
and many of his companions died. He caused coffins to be made for the
bodies of the dead, and had them conveyed to the ship, and bestowed
there; “for it is my purpose to have all the bodies taken to Ericsfirth
in the summer.” It was not long before illness appeared in Thorstein’s
home, and his wife, whose name was Grimhild, was first taken sick. She
was a very vigorous woman, and as strong as a man, but the sickness
mastered her; and soon thereafter Thorstein Ericsson was seized with the
illness, and they both lay ill at the same time, and Grimhild, Thorstein
the Swarthy’s wife, died, and when she was dead Thorstein went out of the
room[58] to procure a deal, upon which to lay the corpse. Thereupon Gudrid
spoke. “Do not be absent long, Thorstein mine!” says she. He replied,
that so it should be. Thorstein Ericsson then exclaimed: “Our house-wife
is acting now in a marvellous fashion, for she is raising herself up on
her elbow, and stretching out her feet from the side of the bed, and
groping after her shoes.” At that moment Thorstein, the master of the
house, entered, and Grimhild laid herself down, wherewithal every timber
in the room creaked. Thorstein now fashioned a coffin for Grimhild’s
body, and bore it away, and cared for it. He was a big man, and strong,
but it called for all [his strength], to enable him to remove the corpse
from the house. The illness grew upon Thorstein Ericsson, and he died,
whereat his wife, Gudrid, was sorely grieved. They were all in the room
at the time, and Gudrid was seated upon a chair before the bench, upon
which her husband, Thorstein, was lying. Thorstein, the master of the
house, then taking Gudrid in his arms [carried her] from the chair, and
seated himself, with her, upon another bench, over against her husband’s
body, and exerted himself in divers ways to console her, and endeavored
to reassure her, and promised her that he would accompany her to
Ericsfirth with the body of her husband, Thorstein, and those of his
companions: “I will likewise summon other persons hither,” says he, “to
attend upon thee, and entertain thee.” She thanked him. Then Thorstein
Ericsson sat up, and exclaimed: “Where is Gudrid?” Thrice he repeated the
question, but Gudrid made no response. She then asked Thorstein, the
master, “Shall I give answer to his question, or not?” Thorstein, the
master, bade her make no reply, and he then crossed the floor, and seated
himself upon the chair, with Gudrid in his lap, and spoke, saying: “What
dost thou wish, namesake?” After a little while, Thorstein replies: “I
desire to tell Gudrid of the fate which is in store for her, to the end
that she may be better reconciled to my death, for I am indeed come to a
goodly resting-place. This I have to tell thee, Gudrid, that thou art to
marry an Icelander, and that ye are to have a long wedded life together,[59]
and a numerous and noble progeny, illustrious, and famous, of good odor
and sweet virtues. Ye shall go from Greenland to Norway, and thence to
Iceland, where ye shall build your home. There ye shall dwell together
for a long time, but thou shalt outlive him, and shalt then go abroad and
to the South, and shalt return to Iceland again, to thy home, and there a
church shall then be raised, and thou shalt abide there and take the
veil, and there thou shalt die.” When he had thus spoken, Thorstein sank
back again, and his body was laid out for burial, and borne to the ship.
Thorstein, the master, faithfully performed all his promises to Gudrid.
He sold his lands and live-stock in the spring, and accompanied Gudrid to
the ship, with all his possessions. He put the ship in order, procured a
crew, and then sailed to Ericsfirth. The bodies of the dead were now
buried at the church, and Gudrid then went home to Leif at Brattahlid,
while Thorstein the Swarthy made a home for himself on Ericsfirth, and
remained there as long as he lived, and was looked upon as a very
superior man.

Of the Wineland Voyages of Thorfinn and his Companions.—That same
summer a ship came from Norway to Greenland. The skipper’s name was
Thorfinn Karlsefni; he was a son of Thord Horsehead, and a grandson of
Snorri, the son of Thord of Höfdi. Thorfinn Karlsefni, who was a very
wealthy man, passed the winter at Brattahlid with Leif Ericsson. He very
soon set his heart upon Gudrid, and sought her hand in marriage; she
referred him to Leif for her answer, and was subsequently betrothed to
him, and their marriage was celebrated that same winter. A renewed
discussion arose concerning a Wineland voyage, and the folk urged
Karlsefni to make the venture, Gudrid joining with the others. He
determined to undertake the voyage, and assembled a company of sixty men
and five women, and entered into an agreement with his shipmates that
they should each share equally in all the spoils of the enterprise. They
took with them all kinds of cattle, as it was their intention to settle
the country, if they could. Karlsefni asked Leif for the house in
Wineland, and he replied, that he would lend it but not give it. They
sailed out to sea[60] with the ship, and arrived safe and sound at
Leif’s-booths, and carried their hammocks ashore there. They were soon
provided with an abundant and goodly supply of food, for a whale of good
size and quality was driven ashore there, and they secured it, and
flensed it, and had then no lack of provisions. The cattle were turned
out upon the land, and the males soon became very restless and vicious;
they had brought a bull with them. Karlsefni caused trees to be felled,
and to be hewed into timbers, wherewith to load his ship, and the wood
was placed upon a cliff to dry. They gathered somewhat of all of the
valuable products of the land, grapes, and all kinds of game and fish,
and other good things. In the summer succeeding the first winter,
Skrellings were discovered. A great troop of men came forth from out the
woods. The cattle were hard by, and the bull began to bellow and roar
with a great noise, whereat the Skrellings were frightened, and ran away,
with their packs wherein were gray furs, sables, and all kinds of
peltries. They fled towards Karlsefni’s dwelling, and sought to effect an
entrance into the house, but Karlsefni caused the doors to be defended
[against them]. Neither [people] could understand the other’s language.
The Skrellings put down their bundles then, and loosed them, and offered
their wares [for barter], and were especially anxious to exchange these
for weapons, but Karlsefni forbade his men to sell their weapons, and
taking counsel with himself, he bade the women carry out milk to the
Skrellings, which they no sooner saw, than they wanted to buy it, and
nothing else. Now the outcome of the Skrellings’ trading was, that they
carried their wares away in their stomachs, while they left their packs
and peltries behind with Karlsefni and his companions, and having
accomplished this [exchange] they went away. Now it is to be told, that
Karlsefni caused a strong wooden palisade to be constructed and set up
around the house. It was at this time that Gudrid, Karlsefni’s wife, gave
birth to a male child, and the boy was called Snorri. In the early part
of the second winter the Skrellings came to them again, and these were
now much more numerous than before, and brought[61] with them the same wares
as at first. Then said Karlsefni to the women: “Do ye carry out now the
same food, which proved so profitable before, and nought else.” When they
saw this they cast their packs in over the palisade. Gudrid was sitting
within, in the doorway, beside the cradle of her infant son, Snorri, when
a shadow fell upon the door, and a woman in a black namkirtle entered.
She was short in stature, and wore a fillet about her head; her hair was
of a light chestnut color, and she was pale of hue, and so big-eyed, that
never before had eyes so large been seen in a human skull. She went up to
where Gudrid was seated, and said: “What is thy name?” “My name is
Gudrid; but what is thy name?” “My name is Gudrid,” says she. The
housewife, Gudrid, motioned her with her hand to a seat beside her; but
it so happened, that at that very instant Gudrid heard a great crash,
whereupon the woman vanished, and at that same moment one of the
Skrellings, who had tried to seize their weapons, was killed by one of
Karlsefni’s followers. At this the Skrellings fled precipitately, leaving
their garments and wares behind them; and not a soul, save Gudrid alone,
beheld this woman. “Now we must needs take counsel together,” says
Karlsefni, “for that I believe they will visit us a third time, in great
numbers, and attack us. Let us now adopt this plan: ten of our number
shall go out upon the cape, and show themselves there, while the
remainder of our company shall go into the woods and hew a clearing for
our cattle, when the troop approaches from the forest. We will also take
our bull, and let him go in advance of us.” The lie of the land was such
that the proposed meeting-place had the lake upon the one side, and the
forest upon the other. Karlsefni’s advice was now carried into execution.
The Skrellings advanced to the spot which Karlsefni had selected for the
encounter, and a battle was fought there, in which great numbers of the
band of the Skrellings were slain. There was one man among the
Skrellings, of large size and fine bearing, whom Karlsefni concluded must
be their chief. One of the Skrellings picked up an axe, and having looked
at it for a time, he brandished it about one[62] of his companions, and
hewed at him, and on the instant the man fell dead. Thereupon the big man
seized the axe, and after examining it for a moment, he hurled it as far
as he could, out into the sea; then they fled helter-skelter into the
woods, and thus their intercourse came to an end. Karlsefni and his party
remained there throughout the winter, but in the spring Karlsefni
announces, that he is not minded to remain there longer, but will return
to Greenland. They now made ready for the voyage, and carried away with
them much booty in vines and grapes, and peltries. They sailed out upon
the high seas, and brought their ship safely to Ericsfirth, where they
remained during the winter.

Freydis causes the Brothers to be put to Death.—There was now much
talk anew, about a Wineland-voyage, for this was reckoned both a
profitable and an honorable enterprise. The same summer that Karlsefni
arrived from Wineland, a ship from Norway arrived in Greenland. This ship
was commanded by two brothers, Helgi and Finnbogi, who passed the winter
in Greenland. They were descended from an Icelandic family of the
East-firths. It is now to be added, that Freydis,62-1 Eric’s daughter,
set out from her home at Gardar, and waited upon the brothers, Helgi and
Finnbogi, and invited them to sail with their vessel to Wineland, and to
share with her equally all of the good things which they might succeed in
obtaining there. To this they agreed, and she departed thence to visit
her brother, Leif, and ask him to give her the house which he had caused
to be erected in Wineland, but he made her the same answer [as that which
he had given Karlsefni], saying, that he would lend the house, but not
give it. It was stipulated between Karlsefni and Freydis, that each
should have on shipboard thirty able-bodied men, besides the women; but
Freydis immediately violated this compact, by concealing five men more
[than this number], and this the brothers did not discover before they
arrived in Wineland. They now put out to sea, having agreed beforehand,
that they would sail in company,[63] if possible, and although they were not
far apart from each other, the brothers arrived somewhat in advance, and
carried their belongings up to Leif’s house. Now when Freydis arrived,
her ship was discharged, and the baggage carried up to the house,
whereupon Freydis exclaimed: “Why did you carry your baggage in here?”
“Since we believed,” said they, “that all promises made to us would be
kept.” “It was to me that Leif loaned the house,” says she, “and not to
you.” Whereupon Helgi exclaimed: “We brothers cannot hope to rival thee
in wrong-dealing.” They thereupon carried their baggage forth, and built
a hut, above the sea, on the bank of the lake, and put all in order about
it; while Freydis caused wood to be felled, with which to load her ship.
The winter now set in, and the brothers suggested, that they should amuse
themselves by playing games. This they did for a time, until the folk
began to disagree, when dissensions arose between them, and the games
came to an end, and the visits between the houses ceased; and thus it
continued far into the winter. One morning early, Freydis arose from her
bed, and dressed herself, but did not put on her shoes and stockings. A
heavy dew had fallen, and she took her husband’s cloak, and wrapped it
about her, and then walked to the brothers’ house, and up to the door,
which had been only partly closed by one of the men, who had gone out a
short time before. She pushed the door open, and stood, silently, in the
doorway for a time. Finnbogi, who was lying on the innermost side of the
room, was awake, and said: “What dost thou wish here, Freydis?” She
answers: “I wish thee to rise, and go out with me, for I would speak with
thee.” He did so, and they walked to a tree, which lay close by the wall
of the house, and seated themselves upon it. “How art thou pleased here?”
says she. He answers: “I am well pleased with the fruitfulness of the
land, but I am ill-content with the breach which has come between us,
for, methinks, there has been no cause for it.” “It is even as thou
sayest,” says she, “and so it seems to me; but my errand to thee is, that
I wish to exchange ships with you brothers, for that ye have a larger
ship than I, and I wish[64] to depart from here.” “To this I must accede,”
says he; “if it is thy pleasure.” Therewith they parted, and she returned
home, and Finnbogi to his bed. She climbed up into bed, and awakened
Thorvard with her cold feet, and he asked her why she was so cold and
wet. She answered, with great passion: “I have been to the brothers,”
says she, “to try to buy their ship, for I wished to have a larger
vessel, but they received my overtures so ill, that they struck me, and
handled me very roughly; what time thou, poor wretch, wilt neither avenge
my shame nor thy own, and I find, perforce, that I am no longer in
Greenland, moreover I shall part from thee unless thou wreakest vengeance
for this.” And now he could stand her taunts no longer, and ordered the
men to rise at once, and take their weapons, and this they did, and they
then proceeded directly to the house of the brothers, and entered it,
while the folk were asleep, and seized and bound them, and led each one
out, when he was bound; and as they came out, Freydis caused each one to
be slain. In this wise all of the men were put to death, and only the
women were left, and these no one would kill. At this Freydis exclaimed:
“Hand me an axe!” This was done, and she fell upon the five women, and
left them dead. They returned home, after this dreadful deed, and it was
very evident that Freydis was well content with her work. She addressed
her companions, saying: “If it be ordained for us, to come again to
Greenland, I shall contrive the death of any man who shall speak of these
events. We must give it out, that we left them living here, when we came
away.” Early in the spring, they equipped the ship, which had belonged to
the brothers, and freighted it with all of the products of the land,
which they could obtain, and which the ship would carry. Then they put
out to sea, and, after a prosperous voyage, arrived with their ship in
Ericsfirth early in the summer. Karlsefni was there, with his ship all
ready to sail, and was awaiting a fair wind; and people say, that a ship
richer laden, than that which he commanded, never left Greenland.

Concerning Freydis.—Freydis now went to her home,[65] since it had
remained unharmed during her absence. She bestowed liberal gifts upon all
of her companions, for she was anxious to screen her guilt. She now
established herself at her home; but her companions were not all so
close-mouthed, concerning their misdeeds and wickedness, that rumors did
not get abroad at last. These finally reached her brother, Leif, and he
thought it a most shameful story. He thereupon took three of the men, who
had been of Freydis’s party, and forced them all at the same time to a
confession of the affair, and their stories entirely agreed. “I have no
heart,” says Leif, “to punish my sister, Freydis, as she deserves, but
this I predict of them, that there is little prosperity in store for
their offspring.” Hence it came to pass, that no one from that time
forward thought them worthy of aught but evil. It now remains to take up
the story from the time when Karlsefni made his ship ready, and sailed
out to sea. He had a successful voyage, and arrived in Norway safe and
sound. He remained there during the winter, and sold his wares, and both
he and his wife were received with great favor by the most distinguished
men of Norway. The following spring he put his ship in order for the
voyage to Iceland; and when all his preparations had been made, and his
ship lying at the wharf, awaiting favorable winds, there came to him a
Southerner, a native of Bremen in the Saxonland, who wished to buy his
“house-neat.”65-1 “I do not wish to sell it,” said he. “I will give
thee half a ‘mörk’ in gold for it,” says the Southerner. This Karlsefni
thought a good offer, and accordingly closed the bargain. The Southerner
went his way, with the “house-neat,” and Karlsefni knew not what wood it
was, but it was “mösur,” come from Wineland.

Karlsefni sailed away, and arrived with his ship in the north of Iceland,
in Skagafirth. His vessel was beached there during the winter, and in the
spring he bought Glaumbœiar-land, and made his home there, and dwelt
there as long as he lived, and was a man of the greatest prominence. From
him and[66] his wife, Gudrid, a numerous and goodly lineage is descended.
After Karlsefni’s death, Gudrid, together with her son, Snorri, who was
born in Wineland, took charge of the farmstead; and when Snorri was
married, Gudrid went abroad, and made a pilgrimage to the South, after
which she returned again to the home of her son, Snorri, who had caused a
church to be built at Glaumbœr. Gudrid then took the veil and became
an anchorite, and lived there the rest of her days. Snorri had a son,
named Thorgeir, who was the father of Ingveld, the mother of Bishop
Brand. Hallfrid was the name of the daughter of Snorri, Karlsefni’s son;
she was the mother of Runolf, Bishop Thorlak’s father. Biorn was the name
of [another] son of Karlsefni and Gudrid; he was the father of Thorunn,
the mother of Bishop Biorn. Many men are descended from Karlsefni, and he
has been blessed with a numerous and famous posterity; and of all men
Karlsefni has given the most exact accounts of all these voyages, of
which something has now been recounted.

[67]

FROM ADAM OF BREMEN’S67-1 DESCRIPTIO INSULARUM AQUILONIS

Moreover he67-2 spoke of an island in that ocean67-3 discovered by
many, which is called Vinland, for the reason that vines grow wild there,
which yield the best of wine. Moreover that grain unsown67-4 grows
there abundantly, is not a fabulous fancy, but, from the accounts of the
Danes, we know to be a fact. Beyond this island, it is said, that there
is no habitable land in that ocean, but all those regions which are
beyond are filled with insupportable ice and boundless gloom, to which
Martian thus refers: “One day’s sail beyond Thile the sea is frozen.”
This was essayed not long since by that very enter[68]prising Northmen’s
prince, Harold,68-1 who explored the extent of the northern ocean with
his ship, but was scarcely able by retreating to escape in safety from
the gulf’s enormous abyss, where before his eyes the vanishing bounds of
earth were hidden in gloom.

[69]

FROM THE ICELANDIC ANNALS69-1

ANNALES REGII

A.D. 1121. Bishop Eric69-2 of Greenland went in search of Vinland.

FROM THE ELDER SKALHOLT69-3 ANNALS

A.D. 1347. There came also a ship from Greenland, less in size than small
Icelandic trading vessels. It came into the outer Stream-firth.69-4 It
was without an anchor. There were seventeen men on board, and they had
sailed to Markland,69-5 but had afterwards been driven hither by storms
at sea.

[70]

PAPAL LETTERS CONCERNING THE BISHOPRIC OF GARDAR IN GREENLAND DURING THE
FIFTEENTH CENTURY70-1

LETTER OF NICHOLAS V., September 20, 1448

Called by a command from on high to preside over all the churches in the
exercise of our apostolic duty, with the Lord’s help we employ all our
solicitude in laboring for the salvation of souls redeemed by the
precious blood of Christ, and we strive earnestly to restore to a state
of peace and tranquillity, not only those who are frequently tossed about
by the storms of impiety and error, but also those who are involved in
the hardships and whirlwinds of persecution. Profoundly im[71]pressed
therefore with the responsibility of our position, it is not difficult to
understand how our mind was filled with bitterness by the tearful
lamentations71-1 which have reached our ears from our beloved children,
the native and other inhabitants of the island of Greenland, a region
situated at the uttermost end of the earth. The island, belonging71-2
to the kingdom of Norway, and under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of
the Archbishop of Drontheim,71-3 received the faith of Christ almost
six71-4 centuries ago, through the piety of blessed King Olaf, and
preserved it steadfastly and inviolably in accordance with the tradition
of the Roman Church, and the Apostolic See. After their conversion, the
people of this island, with untiring and characteristic devotion, erected
many temples71-5 to the worship of God and his saints, as well as a
magnificent cathedral,71-6 in which divine worship was diligently
celebrated, until about thirty71-7 years ago, when God permitting it, a
barbarous and pagan fleet from neighboring shores71-8 invaded the
island, lay[72]ing waste the land with fire and sword, and destroying the
sacred temples. Just nine parish churches were left standing. To these
are attached, it is said, parishes of very great extent. These churches
are left intact, because being situated in the mountain fastnesses, they
were inaccessible to the barbarian hordes, who, after completing their
work of destruction, led captive to their shores the unfortunate
inhabitants of both sexes, and more particularly those who seemed best
able to bear the hardships of servitude and tyranny. But as the same
complaint sets forth, many of these captives, after a time, returned to
their native land. They set to work to rebuild their ruined homes, and
were particularly desirous of restoring divine worship to its former
splendor. Because, however, of their past calamities, as well as the
added trials of famine and want, they had not wherewith to support
priests or bishop. They have been consequently during these thirty years
past without the comfort and ministry of bishop or priest, unless some
one of a very zealous disposition, and at long intervals, and in spite of
danger from the raging sea, ventured to visit the island and minister to
them in those churches which the barbarians had left standing. Having
acquainted us with this deplorable state of affairs, and knowing our
paternal solicitude, they have supplicated us to come to their rescue in
this their hour of spiritual need. Our hearts have been moved by the
prayers of the people of Greenland, but not being sufficiently acquainted
with the circumstances,[73] we direct and command you, or either of
you,73-1 beloved brothers, who as we understand are the bishops living
nearest to that island, to institute a diligent inquiry as to whether
things are as they have been reported to us, and if you should find them
so, and the number of people warrant it, and if they are in a condition
to provide sufficiently, we command you or either of you, to send worthy
priests who will minister to them, erect churches, govern parishes, and
administer the sacraments.

Moreover, if you or either of you should deem it expedient, and in this
you will consult, of course, the metropolitan,73-2 if his residence be
not too far away from you, we empower you to select and consecrate a
bishop, having first required him to take the usual oath to us and the
Roman See. Be mindful, however, that we burden your conscience with this
work, and we grant you, or either of you, full authority to carry it out,
even if there should exist any constitution of the Apostolic See, general
councils, canonical or other statutes to the contrary.

Given at Rome as dated above in the second year of our pontificate.

LETTER OF ALEXANDER VI.; WRITTEN IN THE FIRST YEARS OF HIS
PONTIFICATE73-3

It has been reported to us that in the diocese of Gardar in Greenland,
situated at the confines of the known world, the inhabitants, because of
the scarcity of bread, wine and oil, live for the most part on dried fish
and milk products. Wherefore because of the difficulty of passing through
such immense quantities of ice, and likewise because of the poverty of
the land, and the scant means of living, ships rarely visit its shores.
We have learned in fact that no vessel has touched there during the past
eighty years, and if a voyage be made at all, it must be in the month of
August, when the ice has[74] broken up. On this account, during eighty years
no bishop or priest has resided personally among those people, and by
reason of this, we are informed that many who were formerly Catholics
have forgotten the faith of their baptism, and that no memory of the
Christian religion is found, except a corporal, which is shown to the
people once a year, and on which it is said the last priest who
officiated there consecrated the body of Christ a hundred years
ago.74-1 In consideration of these things, Innocent the VIII., our
predecessor of happy memory, wishing to provide a proper pastor for those
forlorn people, conferred with his brethren, of whom we were one, and
elected Matthias, our venerable brother, a member of the Order of St.
Benedict, as well as professed monk, at our suggestion, and while we were
still in minor orders, to be Bishop of Gardar. This good man, fired with
great zeal to recall those people from the way of error to the practice
of their faith, is about to undertake this perilous voyage and laborious
duty.74-2 We, on our part, accordingly, recognizing the pious and
praiseworthy purpose of the same elect, and wishing to succor in some
manner his poverty, which is very great indeed, command the officials of
our chancery, as well as those of our palace, under pain of
excommunication ipso facto to be incurred, that all apostolic letters
destined for the church of Gardar, be written gratis for the glory of God
alone, without exacting or charging any stipend; and we command the
clergy and notaries of our palace to forward all letters to the above
mentioned bishop, without demanding any payment whatsoever for services
rendered.

To him everything must be free, other things to the contrary
notwithstanding.

[75]

ORIGINAL NARRATIVES OF THE VOYAGES OF COLUMBUS

[76]

[77]

ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE LORDS THE CATHOLIC SOVEREIGNS AND
CRISTÓBAL COLON77-1

The things prayed for, and which Your Highnesses give and grant to Don
Cristóbal Colon77-2 as some recompense for what he is to discover in
the Oceans, and for the voyage which now, with the help of God, he has
engaged to make therein in the service of Your Highnesses, are the
following:

Firstly, that Your Highnesses, as actual Lords of the said Oceans,
appoint from this date the said Don Cristóbal Colon to be your Admiral in
all those islands and mainlands which[78] by his activity and industry shall
be discovered or acquired in the said oceans, during his lifetime, and
likewise, after his death, his heirs and successors one after another in
perpetuity, with all the pre-eminences and prerogatives appertaining to
the said office, and in the same manner as Don Alfonso Enriques, your
High Admiral of Castile,78-1 and his predecessors in the said office
held it in their districts.—It so pleases their Highnesses. Juan de
Coloma.

Likewise, that Your Highnesses appoint the said Don Cristóbal Colon to be
your Viceroy and Governor General in all the said islands and mainlands
and in the islands which, as aforesaid, he may discover and acquire78-2
in the said seas; and that for the government of each and any of them he
may make choice of three persons for each office, and that Your
Highnesses may select and choose the one who shall be most serviceable to
you; and thus the lands which our Lord shall permit him to discover and
acquire for the service of Your Highnesses, will be the better
governed.—It so pleases their Highnesses. Juan de Coloma.[79]

Item, that of all and every kind of merchandise, whether pearls, precious
stones, gold, silver, spices, and other objects and merchandise
whatsoever, of whatever kind, name and sort, which may be bought,
bartered, discovered, acquired and obtained within the limits of the said
Admiralty, Your Highnesses grant from now henceforth to the said Don
Cristóbal, and will that he may have and take for himself, the tenth part
of the whole, after deducting all the expenses which may be incurred
therein, so that of what shall remain clear and free he may have and take
the tenth part for himself, and may do therewith as he pleases, the other
nine parts being reserved for Your Highnesses.—It so pleases their
Highnesses. Juan de Coloma.

Likewise, that if on account of the merchandise which he might bring from
the said islands and lands which thus, as aforesaid, may be acquired or
discovered, or of that which may be taken in exchange for the same from
other merchants here, any suit should arise in the place where the said
commerce and traffic shall be held and conducted; and if by the
pre-eminence of his office of Admiral it appertains to him to take
cognizance of such suit; it may please Your Highnesses that he or his
deputy, and not another judge, shall take cognizance thereof and give
judgment in the same from henceforth.—It so pleases their Highnesses, if
it appertains to the said office of Admiral, according as it was held by
Admiral Don Alfonso Enriques, and others his successors in their
districts, and if it be just. Juan de Coloma.

Item, that in all the vessels which may be equipped for the said traffic
and business, each time and whenever and as often as they may be
equipped, the said Don Cristóbal Colon may, if he chooses, contribute and
pay the eighth part of all that may be spent in the equipment, and that
likewise he may have and take the eighth part of the profits that may
result from such equipment.—It so pleases their Highnesses. Juan de
Coloma.

These are granted and despatched, with the replies of Your Highnesses at
the end of each article, in the town of Santa Fe[80] de la Vega of Granada,
on the seventeenth day of April in the year of the nativity of our
Saviour Jesus Christ, one thousand four hundred and ninety-two. I the
King. I the Queen. By command of the King and of the Queen. Juan de
Coloma. Registered, Calcena.

[81]

TITLE GRANTED BY THE CATHOLIC SOVEREIGNS TO CRISTÓBAL COLON OF ADMIRAL,
VICEROY AND GOVERNOR OF THE ISLANDS AND MAINLAND THAT MAY BE
DISCOVERED81-1

Don Ferdinand and Donna Isabella, by the grace of God King and Queen of
Castile, Leon, Aragon, Sicily, Granada, Toledo, Valencia, Galicia,
Majorca, Seville, Sardinia, Cordova, Corsica, Murcia, Jaen, Algarbe,
Algeciras, Gibraltar, and the Canary Islands; Count and Countess of
Barcelona; Lords of Biscay and Molina; Dukes of Athens and Neopatria;
Counts of Roussillon and Cerdagne, Marquises of Oristano and Goziano;
Forasmuch as you, Cristóbal Colon, are going by our command, with some of
our ships and with our subjects, to discover and acquire certain islands
and mainland in the ocean, and it is hoped that, by the help of God, some
of the said islands and mainland in the said ocean will be discovered and
acquired by your pains and industry; and as it is a just and reasonable
thing that since you incur the said danger for our service you should be
rewarded for it, and since we desire to honor and favor you on account of
what is aforesaid, it is our will and pleasure that you, the said
Cristóbal Colon, after you have discovered and acquired the said islands
and mainland in the said ocean, or any of them whatsoever, shall be our
Admiral of the said islands and mainland which you may thus discover and
acquire, and shall be our Admiral and Viceroy[82] and Governor therein, and
shall be empowered from that time forward to call and entitle yourself
Don Cristóbal Colon, and that your sons and successors in the said office
and charge may likewise entitle and call themselves Don, and Admiral and
Viceroy and Governor thereof; and that you may have power to use and
exercise the said office of Admiral, together with the said office of
Viceroy and Governor of the said islands and mainland which you may thus
discover and acquire, by yourself or by your lieutenants, and to hear and
determine all the suits and causes civil and criminal appertaining to the
said office of Admiralty, Viceroy, and Governor according as you shall
find by law, and as the Admirals of our kingdoms are accustomed to use
and exercise it; and may have power to punish and chastise delinquents,
and exercise the said offices of Admiralty, Viceroy, and Governor, you
and your said lieutenants, in all that concerns and appertains to the
said offices and to each of them; and that you shall have and levy the
fees and salaries annexed, belonging and appertaining to the said offices
and to each of them, according as our High Admiral in the Admiralty of
our kingdoms levies and is accustomed to levy them. And by this our
patent, or by the transcript thereof signed by a public scrivener, we
command Prince Don Juan, our very dear and well beloved son, and the
Infantes, dukes, prelates, marquises, counts, masters of orders, priors,
commanders, and members of our council, and auditors of our audiencia,
alcaldes, and other justices whomsoever of our household, court, and
chancery, and sub-commanders, alcaldes of castles and fortified and
unfortified houses, and all councillors, assistants, regidores, alcaldes,
bailiffs, judges, veinticuatros, jurats, knights, esquires, officers, and
liege men82-1 of all the cities, towns, and places of our kingdoms and
dominions, and of those which you may conquer[83] and acquire, and the
captains, masters, mates, officers, mariners, and seamen, our natural
subjects who now are or hereafter shall be, and each and any of them,
that upon the said islands and mainland in the said ocean being
discovered and acquired by you, and the oath and formality requisite in
such case having been made and done by you or by him who may have your
procuration,83-1 they shall have and hold you from thenceforth for the
whole of your life, and your son and successor after you, and successor
after successor for ever and ever, as our Admiral of the said ocean, and
as Viceroy and Governor of the said islands and mainland, which you, the
said Don Cristóbal Colon, may discover and acquire; and they shall treat
with you, and with your said lieutenants whom you may place in the said
offices of Admiral, Viceroy, and Governor, about everything appertaining
thereto, and shall pay and cause to be paid to you the salary, dues and
other things annexed and appertaining to the said offices, and shall
observe and cause to be observed toward you all the honors, graces,
favors, liberties, pre-eminences, prerogatives, exemptions, immunities,
and all other things, and each of them, which in virtue of the said
offices of Admiral, Viceroy, and Governor you shall be entitled to have
and enjoy, and which ought to be observed towards you in every respect
fully and completely so that nothing may be diminished therefrom; and
that neither therein nor in any part thereof shall they place or consent
to place hindrance or obstacle against you; for we by this our patent
from now henceforth grant to you the said offices of Admiralty, Viceroy,
and Governor, by right of inheritance for ever and ever, and we give you
actual and prospective possession thereof, and of each of them, and power
and authority to use and exercise it, and to collect the dues and
salaries annexed and appertaining to them and to each of them, according
to what is aforesaid. Concerning all that is aforesaid, if it should be
necessary and you should require[84] it of them, we command our chancellor
and notaries and the other officers who are at the board of our seals to
give, deliver, pass, and seal for you our patent of privilege with the
circle of signatures, in the strongest, firmest, and most sufficient
manner that you may request and may find needful, and neither one nor the
other of you or them shall do contrary hereto in any manner, under
penalty of our displeasure and of ten thousand maravedis84-1 to our
chamber, upon every one who shall do to the contrary. And further we
command the man who shall show them this our patent, to cite them to
appear before us in our court, wheresoever we may be, within fifteen days
from the day of citation, under the said penalty, under which we command
every public scrivener who may be summoned for this purpose, to give to
the person who shall show it to him a certificate thereof signed with his
signature, whereby we may know in what manner our command is executed.
Given in our city of Granada, on the thirtieth day of the month of April,
in the year of the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ one thousand four
hundred and ninety-two. I the King. I the Queen. I, Juan de Coloma,
Secretary of the King and of the Queen, our Lords, caused this to be
written by their command. Granted in form, Roderick, Doctor. Registered,
Sebastian de Olano. Francisco de Madrid, Chancellor.

[85]

JOURNAL OF THE FIRST VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS

[86]

[87]

INTRODUCTION

The contents of Columbus’s Journal of his first voyage were first made
known to the public in the epitome incorporated in Ferdinand Columbus’s
life of the Admiral, which has come down to us only in the Italian
translation of Alfonso Ulloa, the Historie del S. D. Fernando Colombo
nelle quali s’ha particolare e vera relazione della vita e de’ fatti
dell’ Ammiraglio D. Christoforo Colombo suo padre, etc. (Venice, 1571).
This account is accessible in English in Churchill’s Voyages, Vol. II.,
and in Pinkerton’s Voyages, Vol. XII.

Another epitome was prepared by Bartolomé de Las Casas and inserted in
his Historia de las Indias. This account was embodied in the main by
Antonio de Herrera in his Historia General de las Indias Occidentales
(Madrid, 1601). It is accessible in English in John Stevens’s translation
of Herrera (London, 1725-1726).

These independent epitomes of the original were supplemented in 1825 by
the publication by the Spanish archivist Martin Fernandez de Navarrete in
his Coleccion de los Viages y Descubrimientos que hicieron por mar los
Españoles desde fines del siglo XV. of a considerably more detailed
narrative (likewise independently abridged from the original) which
existed in two copies in the archives of the Duke del Infantado.
Navarrete says that the handwriting of the older copy is that of Las
Casas and that Las Casas had written some explanatory notes in the
margin. This longer narrative, here reprinted, was first translated by
Samuel Kettell of Boston and published in 1827 under the title Personal
Narrative of the First[88] Voyage of Columbus. The next translation was
that of Clements R. Markham for the Hakluyt Society in 1893. A third and
very exact rendering appeared in 1903 in John Boyd Thacher’s Christopher
Columbus, Vol. I.

The translation given here is that of Sir Clements R. Markham with some
slight revisions. When we recall the very scanty and fragmentary
knowledge which we have of the Cabot voyages, and how few in fact of the
great discoverers of this era left personal narratives of their
achievements, we realize our singular good fortune in possessing so full
a daily record from the hand of Columbus himself which admits us as it
were “into the very presence of the Admiral to share his thoughts and
impressions as the strange panorama of his experiences unfolded before
him.”88-1 Sir Clements R. Markham declares the Journal “the most
important document in the whole range of the history of geographical
discovery, because it is a record of the enterprise which changed the
whole face, not only of that history, but of the history of
mankind.”88-2

Edward G. Bourne.

The Four Voyages of Columbus 1492-1503.

[89]

JOURNAL OF THE FIRST VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS

This is the first voyage and the routes and direction taken by the
Admiral Don Cristóbal Colon when he discovered the Indies, summarized;
except the prologue made for the Sovereigns, which is given word for word
and commences in this manner

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

Because, O most Christian, and very high, very excellent, and puissant
Princes, King and Queen of the Spains and of the islands of the Sea, our
Lords, in this present year of 1492, after your Highnesses had given an
end to the war with the Moors who reigned in Europe, and had finished it
in the very great city of Granada, where in this present year, on the
second day of the month of January, by force of arms, I saw the royal
banners of your Highnesses placed on the towers of Alfambra,89-1 which
is the fortress of that city, and I saw the Moorish King come forth from
the gates of the city and kiss the royal hands of your Highnesses, and of
the Prince my Lord, and presently in that same month, acting on the
information that I had given to your Highnesses touching the lands of
India, and respecting a Prince who is called Gran Can, which means in our
language King of Kings, how he and his ancestors had sent to Rome many
times to ask for learned men89-2 of our holy faith to teach him, and
how the Holy Father[90] had never complied, insomuch that many people
believing in idolatries were lost by receiving doctrine of perdition:
your Highnesses, as Catholic Christians and Princes who love the
holy Christian faith, and the propagation of it, and who are enemies to
the sect of Mahoma and to all idolatries and heresies, resolved to send
me, Cristóbal Colon, to the said parts of India to see the said princes,
and the cities and lands, and their disposition, with a view that they
might be converted to our holy faith;90-1 and ordered that I should not
go by land to the eastward, as had been customary, but that I should go
by way of the west, whither up to this day, we do not know for certain
that any one has gone.

Thus, after having turned out all the Jews from all your kingdoms and
lordships, in the same month of January,90-2 your Highnesses gave
orders to me that with a sufficient fleet I should go to the said parts
of India, and for this they made great concessions to me, and ennobled
me, so that henceforward I should be called Don, and should be Chief
Admiral of the Ocean Sea, perpetual Viceroy and Governor of all the
islands and continents that I should discover and gain, and that I might
hereafter discover and gain in the Ocean Sea, and that my eldest son
should succeed, and so on from generation to generation for ever.

I left the city of Granada on the 12th day of May, in the same year of
1492, being Saturday, and came to the town of Palos, which is a seaport;
where I equipped three vessels well suited for such service; and departed
from that port, well supplied with provisions and with many sailors, on
the 3d day of August of the same year, being Friday, half an hour before
sunrise,[91] taking the route to the islands of Canaria, belonging to your
Highnesses, which are in the said Ocean Sea, that I might thence take my
departure for navigating until I should arrive at the Indies, and give
the letters of your Highnesses to those princes, so as to comply with my
orders. As part of my duty I thought it well to write an account of all
the voyage very punctually, noting from day to day all that I should do
and see, and that should happen, as will be seen further on. Also, Lords
Princes, I resolved to describe each night what passed in the day, and to
note each day how I navigated at night. I propose to construct a new
chart for navigating, on which I shall delineate all the sea and lands of
the Ocean in their proper positions under their bearings; and further, I
propose to prepare a book, and to put down all as it were in a picture,
by latitude from the equator, and western longitude. Above all, I shall
have accomplished much, for I shall forget sleep, and shall work at the
business of navigation, that so the service may be performed; all which
will entail great labor.

Friday, 3d of August

We departed on Friday, the 3d of August, in the year 1492, from the bar
of Saltes, at 8 o’clock, and proceeded with a strong sea breeze until
sunset, towards the south, for 60 miles, equal to 15 leagues;91-1
afterwards S.W. and W.S.W., which was the course for the Canaries.

Saturday, 4th of August

They steered S.W. 1/4 S.

Sunday, 5th of August

They continued their course day and night more than 40 leagues.[92]

Monday, 6th of August

The rudder of the caravel Pinta became unshipped, and Martin Alonso
Pinzon, who was in command, believed or suspected that it was by
contrivance of Gomes Rascon and Cristóbal Quintero, to whom the caravel
belonged, for they dreaded to go on that voyage. The Admiral says that,
before they sailed, these men had been displaying a certain backwardness,
so to speak. The Admiral was much disturbed at not being able to help the
said caravel without danger, and he says that he was eased of some
anxiety when he reflected that Martin Alonso Pinzon was a man of energy
and ingenuity. They made, during the day and night, 29 leagues.

Tuesday, 7th of August

The rudder of the Pinta was shipped and secured, and they proceeded on
a course for the island of Lanzarote, one of the Canaries. They made,
during the day and night, 25 leagues.

Wednesday, 8th of August

Opinions respecting their position varied among the pilots of the three
caravels; but that of the Admiral proved to be nearer the truth. He
wished to go to Gran Canaria, to leave the caravel Pinta, because she
was disabled by the faulty hanging of her rudder, and was making water.
He intended to obtain another there if one could be found. They could not
reach the place that day.

Thursday, 9th of August

The Admiral was not able to reach Gomera until the night of Sunday, while
Martin Alonso remained on that coast of Gran Canaria by order of the
Admiral, because his vessel could not be navigated. Afterwards the
Admiral took her to Canaria, and they repaired the Pinta very
thoroughly through[93] the pains and labor of the Admiral, of Martin Alonso,
and of the rest. Finally they came to Gomera. They saw a great fire issue
from the mountain of the island of Tenerife, which is of great height.
They rigged the Pinta with square sails, for she was lateen rigged; and
the Admiral reached Gomera on Sunday, the 2nd of September, with the
Pinta repaired.

The Admiral says that many honorable Spanish gentlemen who were at Gomera
with Doña Ines Peraza, mother of Guillen Peraza (who was afterwards the
first Count of Gomera), and who were natives of the island of Hierro,
declared that every year they saw land to the west of the Canaries; and
others, natives of Gomera, affirmed the same on oath. The Admiral here
says that he remembers, when in Portugal in the year 1484, a man came to
the King from the island of Madeira, to beg for a caravel to go to this
land that was seen, who swore that it could be seen every year, and
always in the same way.93-1 He also says that he recollects the same
thing being affirmed in the islands of the Azores; and all these lands
were described as in the same direction, and as being like each other,
and of the same size. Having taken in water, wood, and meat, and all else
that the men had who were left at Gomera by the Admiral when he went to
the island of Canaria to repair the caravel Pinta, he finally made sail
from the said island of Gomera, with his three caravels, on Thursday, the
6th day of September.

Thursday, 6th of September

He departed on that day from the port of Gomera in the morning, and
shaped a course to go on his voyage; having received tidings from a
caravel that came from the island of Hierro that three Portuguese
caravels were off that island with the object of taking him. (This must
have been the result[94] of the King’s annoyance that Colon should have gone
to Castile.) There was a calm all that day and night, and in the morning
he found himself between Gomera and Tenerife.

Friday, 7th of September

The calm continued all Friday and Saturday, until the third hour of the
night.

Saturday, 8th of September

At the third hour of Saturday night94-1 it began to blow from the N.E.,
and the Admiral shaped a course to the west. He took in much sea over the
bows, which retarded progress, and 9 leagues were made in that day and
night.

Sunday, 9th of September

This day the Admiral made 19 leagues, and he arranged to reckon less than
the number run, because if the voyage was of long duration, the people
would not be so terrified and disheartened. In the night he made 120
miles, at the rate of 12 miles an hour, which are 30 leagues. The sailors
steered badly, letting the ship fall off to N.E., and even more,
respecting which the Admiral complained many times.94-2

Monday, 10th of September

In this day and night he made 60 leagues, at the rate of 10 miles an
hour, which are 2 1/2 leagues; but he only counted[95] 48 leagues, that the
people might not be alarmed if the voyage should be long.

Tuesday, 11th of September

That day they sailed on their course, which was west, and made 20 leagues
and more. They saw a large piece of the mast of a ship of 120 tons, but
were unable to get it. In the night they made nearly 20 leagues, but only
counted 16, for the reason already given.

Wednesday, 12th of September

That day, steering their course, they made 33 leagues during the day and
night, counting less.

Thursday, 13th of September

That day and night, steering their course, which was west, they made 33
leagues, counting 3 or 4 less. The currents were against them. On this
day, at the commencement of the night, the needles turned a half point to
north-west, and in the morning they turned somewhat more
north-west.95-1[96]

Friday, 14th of September

That day they navigated, on their westerly course, day and night, 20
leagues, counting a little less. Here those of the caravel Niña
reported that they had seen a tern96-1 and a boatswain bird,96-2 and
these birds never go more than 25 leagues from the land.96-3

Saturday, 15th of September

That day and night they made 27 leagues and rather more on their west
course; and in the early part of the night there fell from heaven into
the sea a marvellous flame of fire, at a distance of about 4 or 5 leagues
from them.

Sunday, 16th of September

That day and night they steered their course west, making 39 leagues, but
the Admiral only counted 36. There were some clouds and small rain. The
Admiral says that on that day, and ever afterwards, they met with very
temperate breezes, so that there was great pleasure in enjoying the
mornings, nothing being wanted but the song of nightingales. He says that
the weather was like April in Andalusia. Here they began to see many
tufts of grass which were very green, and appeared to have been quite
recently torn from the land. From this they judged that they were near
some island, but[97] not the main land, according to the Admiral, “because,”
as he says, “I make the main land to be more distant.”

Monday, 17th of September

They proceeded on their west course, and made over 50 leagues in the day
and night, but the Admiral only counted 47. They were aided by the
current. They saw much very fine grass and herbs from rocks, which came
from the west. They, therefore, considered that they were near land. The
pilots observed the north point, and found that the needles turned a full
point to the west of north. So the mariners were alarmed and dejected,
and did not give their reason. But the Admiral knew, and ordered that the
north should be again observed at dawn. They then found that the needles
were true. The cause was that the star makes the movement, and not the
needles. At dawn, on that Monday, they saw much more weed appearing, like
herbs from rivers, in which they found a live crab, which the Admiral
kept. He says that these crabs are certain signs of land. The sea-water
was found to be less salt than it had been since leaving the Canaries.
The breezes were always soft. Every one was pleased, and the best sailors
went ahead to sight the first land. They saw many tunny-fish, and the
crew of the Niña killed one. The Admiral here says that these signs of
land came from the west, “in which direction I trust in that high God in
whose hands are all victories that very soon we shall sight land.” In
that morning he says that a white bird was seen which has not the habit
of sleeping on the sea, called rabo de junco (boatswain-bird).97-1

Tuesday, 18th of September

This day and night they made over 55 leagues, the Admiral only counting
48. In all these days the sea was very smooth, like the river at Seville.
This day Martin Alonso, with the Pinta which was a fast sailer, did not
wait, for he said to the[98] Admiral, from his caravel, that he had seen a
great multitude of birds flying westward, that he hoped to see land that
night, and that he therefore pressed onward. A great cloud appeared in
the north, which is a sign of the proximity of land.

Wednesday, 19th of September

The Admiral continued on his course, and during the day and night he made
but 25 leagues because it was calm. He counted 22. This day, at 10
o’clock, a booby98-1 came to the ship, and in the afternoon another
arrived, these birds not generally going more than 20 leagues from the
land. There was also some drizzling rain without wind, which is a sure
sign of land. The Admiral did not wish to cause delay by beating to
windward to ascertain whether land was near, but he considered it certain
that there were islands both to the north and south of his position, (as
indeed there were, and he was passing through the middle of them). For
his desire was to press onwards to the Indies, the weather being fine.
For on his return, God willing, he could see all. These are his own
words. Here the pilots found their positions. He of the Niña made the
Canaries 440 leagues distant, the Pinta 420. The pilot of the Admiral’s
ship made the distance exactly 400 leagues.

Thursday, 20th of September

This day the course was W. b. N., and as her head was all round the
compass owing to the calm that prevailed,98-2 the ship made only 7 or 8
leagues. Two boobies came to the ship,[99] and afterwards another, a sign of
the proximity of land. They saw much weed, although none was seen on the
previous day. They caught a bird with the hand, which was like a tern.
But it was a river-bird, not a sea-bird, the feet being like those of a
gull. At dawn two or three land-birds came singing to the ship, and they
disappeared before sunset. Afterwards a booby came from W.N.W., and flew
to the S.W., which was a sign that it left land in the W.N.W.; for these
birds sleep on shore, and go to sea in the mornings in search of food,
not extending their flight more than 20 leagues from the land.

Friday, 21st September

Most of the day it was calm, and later there was a little wind. During
the day and night they did not make good more than 13 leagues. At dawn
they saw so much weed that the sea appeared to be covered with it, and it
came from the west. A booby was seen. The sea was very smooth, like a
river, and the air the best in the world. They saw a whale, which is a
sign that they were near land, because they always keep near the shore.

Saturday, 22nd of September

They shaped a course W.N.W. more or less, her head turning from one to
the other point, and made 30 leagues. Scarcely any weed was seen. They
saw some sandpipers and another bird. Here the Admiral says: “This
contrary wind was very necessary for me, because my people were much
excited at the thought that in these seas no wind ever blew in the
direction of Spain.” Part of the day there was no weed, and later it was
very thick.

Sunday, 23rd of September

They shaped a course N.W., and at times more northerly; occasionally they
were on their course, which was west, and they made about 22 leagues.
They saw a dove and a[100] booby, another river-bird, and some white birds.
There was a great deal of weed, and they found crabs in it. The sea,
being smooth and calm, the crew began to murmur, saying that here there
was no great sea, and that the wind would never blow so that they could
return to Spain. Afterwards the sea rose very much, without wind, which
astonished them. The Admiral here says: “Thus the high sea was very
necessary to me, such as had not appeared but in the time of the Jews
when they went out of Egypt and murmured against Moses who delivered them
out of captivity.”100-1

Monday, 24th of September

The Admiral went on his west course all day and night, making 14 leagues.
He counted 12. A booby came to the ship, and many sandpipers.100-2

Tuesday, 25th of September

This day began with a calm, and afterwards there was wind. They were on
their west course until night. The Admiral conversed with Martin Alonso
Pinzon, captain of the other caravel Pinta, respecting a chart which he
had sent to the caravel three days before, on which, as it would appear,[101]
the Admiral had certainis lands depicted in that sea.101-1 Martin
Alonso said that the ships were in the position on which the islands were
placed, and the Admiral replied that so it appeared to him: but it might
be that they had not fallen in with them, owing to the currents which had
always set the ships to the N.E., and that they had not made so much as
the pilots reported. The Admiral then asked for the chart to be returned,
and it was sent back on a line.101-2 The Admiral then began to[102] plot
the position on it, with the pilot and mariners. At sunset Martin Alonso
went up on the poop of his ship, and with much joy called to the Admiral,
claiming the reward as he had sighted land. When the Admiral heard this
positively declared, he says that he gave thanks to the Lord on his knees
while Martin Alonso said the Gloria in excelsis with his people. The
Admiral’s crew did the same. Those of the Niña all went up on the mast
and into the rigging, and declared that it was land. It so seemed to the
Admiral, and that it was distant 25 leagues. They all continued to
declare it was land until night. The Admiral ordered the course to be
altered from W. to S.W., in which direction the land had appeared. That
day they made 4 leagues on a west course, and 17 S.W. during the night,
in all 21; but the people were told that 13 was the distance made good:
for it was always feigned to them that the distances were less, so that
the voyage might not appear so long. Thus two reckonings were kept on
this voyage, the shorter being feigned, and the longer being the true
one. The sea was very smooth, so that many sailors bathed alongside. They
saw many dorados102-1 and other fish.

Wednesday, 26th of September

The Admiral continued on the west course until afternoon. Then he altered
course to S.W., until he made out that what had been said to be land was
only clouds. Day and night they made 31 leagues, counting 24 for the
people. The sea was like a river, the air pleasant and very mild.

Thursday, 27th of September

The course west, and distance made good during day and night 24 leagues,
20 being counted for the people. Many dorados came. One was killed. A
boatswain-bird came.[103]

Friday, 28th of September

The course was west, and the distance, owing to calms, only 14 leagues in
day and night, 13 leagues being counted. They met with little weed; but
caught two dorados, and more in the other ships.

Saturday, 29th of September

The course was west, and they made 24 leagues, counting 21 for the
people. Owing to calms, the distance made good during day and night was
not much. They saw a bird called rabiforcado103-1 (man-o’-war bird),
which makes the boobies vomit what they have swallowed, and eats it,
maintaining itself on nothing else. It is a sea-bird, but does not sleep
on the sea, and does not go more than 20 leagues from the land. There are
many of them at the Cape Verde Islands. Afterwards they saw two boobies.
The air was very mild and agreeable, and the Admiral says that nothing
was wanting but to hear the nightingale. The sea smooth as a river.
Later, three boobies and a man-o’-war bird were seen three times. There
was much weed.

Sunday, 30th of September

The western course was steered, and during the day and night, owing to
calms, only 14 leagues were made, 11 being counted. Four boatswain-birds
came to the ship, which is a great sign of land, for so many birds of
this kind together is a sign that they are not straying or lost. They
also twice saw four boobies. There was much weed. Note that the stars
which are called Las Guardias (the Pointers103-2), when night[104] comes
on, are near the western point, and when dawn breaks they are near the
N.E. point; so that, during the whole night, they do not appear to move
more than three lines or 9 hours, and this on each night. The Admiral
says this, and also that at nightfall the needles vary a point westerly,
while at dawn they agree exactly with the star. From this it would appear
that the north star has a movement like the other stars, while the
needles always point correctly.

Monday, 1st of October

Course west, and 25 leagues made good, counted for the crew as 20
leagues. There was a heavy shower of rain. At dawn the Admiral’s pilot
made the distance from Hierro 578 leagues to the west. The reduced
reckoning which the Admiral showed to the crew made it 584 leagues; but
the truth which the Admiral observed and kept secret was 707.

Tuesday, 2nd of October

Course west, and during the day and night 39 leagues were made good,
counted for the crew as 30. The sea always smooth. Many thanks be given
to God, says the Admiral, that the weed is coming from east to west,
contrary to its usual course. Many fish were seen, and one was killed. A
white bird was also seen that appeared to be a gull.

Wednesday, 3rd of October

They navigated on the usual course, and made good 47 leagues, counted as
40. Sandpipers appeared, and much weed, some of it very old and some
quite fresh and having fruit. They saw no birds. The Admiral, therefore,
thought that they had left the islands behind them which were depicted[105]
on the charts. The Admiral here says that he did not wish to keep the
ships beating about during the last week, and in the last few days when
there were so many signs of land, although he had information of certain
islands in this region. For he wished to avoid delay, his object being to
reach the Indies. He says that to delay would not be wise.105-1

Thursday, 4th of October

Course west, and 63 leagues made good during the day and night, counted
as 46. More than forty sandpipers came to the ship in a flock, and two
boobies, and a ship’s boy hit one with a stone. There also came a
man-o’-war bird and a white bird like a gull.

Friday, 5th of October

The Admiral steered his course, going 11 miles an hour, and during the
day and night they made good 57 leagues, as the wind increased somewhat
during the night: 45 were counted. The sea was smooth and quiet. “To
God,” he says, “be many thanks given, the air being pleasant and
temperate, with no weed, many sandpipers, and flying-fish coming on the
deck in numbers.”[106]

Saturday, 6th of October

The Admiral continued his west course, and during day and night they made
good 40 leagues, 33 being counted. This night Martin Alonso said that it
would be well to steer south of west,106-1 and it appeared to the
Admiral that Martin Alonso did not say this with respect to the island of
Cipango.106-2 He saw that if an error was made the land would not be
reached so quickly, and that consequently it would be better to go at
once to the continent and afterwards to the islands.

Sunday, 7th of October

The west course was continued; for two hours they went at the rate of 12
miles an hour, and afterwards 8 miles an hour. They made good 23 leagues,
counting 18 for the people. This day, at sunrise, the caravel Niña,
which went ahead, being the best sailer, and pushed forward as much as
possible to sight the land first, so as to enjoy the reward which the
Sovereigns had promised to whoever should see it first, hoisted a flag at
the mast-head and fired a gun, as a signal that she had sighted land, for
such was the Admiral’s order. He had also ordered that, at sunrise and
sunset, all the ships should join him; because those two times are most
proper for seeing the greatest distance, the haze clearing away. No land
was seen during the afternoon, as reported by the caravel Niña, and
they passed a great number of birds flying from N. to S.W. This gave rise
to the belief that the birds were either going to sleep on land, or were
flying from the winter which might be supposed to be near in the land
whence they were coming. The Admiral was aware that most of the islands
held by the Portuguese were discovered by the flight of birds. For this
reason he[107] resolved to give up the west course, and to shape a course
W.S.W. for the two following days.107-1 He began the new course one
hour before sunset. They made good, during the night, about 5 leagues,
and 23 in the day, altogether 28 leagues.

Monday, 8th of October

The course was W.S.W., and 11 1/2 or 12 leagues were made good in the day
and night; and at times it appears that they went at the rate of 15 miles
an hour during the night (if the handwriting is not deceptive).107-2
The sea was like the river at Seville. “Thanks be to God,” says the
Admiral, “the air is very soft like the April at Seville; and it is a
pleasure to be here, so balmy are the breezes.” The weed seemed to be
very fresh. There were many land-birds, and they took one that was flying
to the S.W. Terns,107-3 ducks, and a booby were also seen.

Tuesday, 9th of October

The course was S.W., and they made 5 leagues. The wind then changed, and
the Admiral steered W. by N. 4 leagues. Altogether, in day and night,
they made 11 leagues by day and 20 1/2 leagues by night; counted as 17
leagues altogether. Throughout the night birds were heard passing.

Wednesday, 10th of October

The course was W.S.W., and they went at the rate of 10 miles an hour,
occasionally 12 miles, and sometimes 7. During[108] the day and night they
made 59 leagues, counted as no more than 44. Here the people could endure
no longer. They complained of the length of the voyage. But the Admiral
cheered them up in the best way he could, giving them good hopes of the
advantages they might gain from it. He added that, however much they
might complain, he had to go to the Indies, and that he would go on until
he found them, with the help of our Lord.108-1

Thursday, 11th of October

The course was W.S.W., and there was more sea than there had been during
the whole of the voyage. They saw sandpipers, and a green reed near the
ship. Those of the caravel Pinta saw a cane and a pole, and they took
up another small pole which appeared to have been worked with iron; also
another bit of cane, a land-plant, and a small board. The crew of the
caravel Niña also saw signs of land, and a small branch covered with
berries.108-2 Every one breathed afresh and rejoiced at these signs.
The run until sunset was 27 leagues.

After sunset the Admiral returned to his original west course, and they
went along at the rate of 12 miles an hour. Up to two hours after
midnight they had gone 90 miles, equal to 22 1/2 leagues. As the caravel
Pinta was a better sailer, and went ahead of the Admiral, she found the
land, and made the[109] signals ordered by the Admiral. The land was first
seen by a sailor named Rodrigo de Triana.109-1 But the Admiral, at ten
o’clock, being on the castle of the poop,109-2 saw a light, though it
was so uncertain that he could not affirm it was land. He called Pero
Gutierrez, a gentleman of the King’s bed-chamber, and said that there
seemed to be a light, and that he should look at it. He did so, and saw
it.109-3 The Admiral said the same to Rodrigo Sanchez of Segovia, whom
the King and Queen had sent with the fleet as inspector, but he could see
nothing, because he was not in a place whence anything could be seen.
After the Admiral had spoken he saw the light once or twice, and it was
like a wax candle rising and falling. It seemed to few to be an
indication of land; but the Admiral made certain that land was close.
When they said the Salve, which all the sailors were accustomed to sing
in their way, the Admiral asked and admonished the men to keep a good
look-out on the forecastle, and to watch well for land; and to him who
should first cry out that he saw land, he would give a silk doublet,
besides the other rewards promised by the Sovereigns, which were 10,000
maravedis to him who should first see it.109-4 At two hours after
midnight the land was sighted at a distance of[110] two leagues. They
shortened sail, and lay by under the mainsail without the bonnets.

[Friday, 12th of October]

The vessels were hove to, waiting for daylight; and on Friday they
arrived at a small island of the Lucayos, called in the language of the
Indians, Guanahani.110-1 Presently they saw naked people. The Admiral
went on shore in the armed boat, and Martin Alonso Pinzon, and Vicente
Yañez, his brother, who was captain of the Niña. The Admiral took the
royal standard, and the captains went with two banners of the green
cross, which the Admiral took in all the ships as a sign, with an F and a
Y110-2 and a crown over each letter, one on one side of the cross and
the other on the other. Having landed, they saw trees very green, and
much water, and fruits of diverse kinds. The Admiral called to the two
captains, and to the others who leaped on shore, and to Rodrigo Escovedo,
secretary of the whole fleet, and to Rodrigo Sanchez of Segovia,110-3
and said that they should bear faithful testimony that he, in presence of
all, had taken, as he now took, possession of the said island110-4 for
the King and for the Queen his Lords, making the declarations that are
required, as is now largely set forth in the testimonies which were then
made in writing.

Presently many inhabitants of the island assembled. What follows is in
the actual words of the Admiral in his book of the first navigation and
discovery of the Indies.110-5 “I,” he says, “that we might form great
friendship, for I knew that they were a people who could be more easily
freed and converted to our holy faith by love than by force, gave to
some[111] of them red caps, and glass beads to put round their necks, and
many other things of little value, which gave them great pleasure, and
made them so much our friends that it was a marvel to see. They
afterwards came to the ship’s boats where we were, swimming and bringing
us parrots, cotton threads in skeins, darts, and many other things; and
we exchanged them for other things that we gave them, such as glass beads
and small bells. In fine, they took all, and gave what they had with good
will. It appeared to me to be a race of people very poor in everything.
They go as naked as when their mothers bore them, and so do the women,
although I did not see more than one young girl. All I saw were youths,
none more than thirty years of age. They are very well made, with very
handsome bodies, and very good countenances. Their hair is short and
coarse, almost like the hairs of a horse’s tail. They wear the hairs
brought down to the eyebrows, except a few locks behind, which they wear
long and never cut. They paint themselves black, and they are the color
of the Canarians, neither black nor white. Some paint themselves white,
others red, and others of what color they find. Some paint their faces,
others the whole body, some only round the eyes, others only on the nose.
They neither carry nor know anything of arms, for I showed them swords,
and they took them by the blade and cut themselves through ignorance.
They have no iron, their darts being wands without iron, some of them
having a fish’s tooth at the end, and others being pointed in various
ways. They are all of fair stature and size, with good faces, and well
made. I saw some with marks of wounds on their bodies, and I made signs
to ask what it was, and they gave me to understand that people from other
adjacent islands came with the intention of seizing them, and that they
defended themselves. I believed, and still believe, that they come here
from the mainland to take them prisoners. They should be good servants
and intelligent, for I observed that they quickly took in what was said
to them, and I believe that they would easily be made Christians, as it
appeared to me that they had no religion.[112] I, our Lord being pleased,
will take hence, at the time of my departure, six natives for your
Highnesses, that they may learn to speak. I saw no beast of any kind
except parrots, on this island.” The above is in the words of the
Admiral.

Saturday, 13th of October

“As soon as dawn broke many of these people came to the beach, all
youths, as I have said, and all of good stature, a very handsome people.
Their hair is not curly, but loose and coarse, like horse hair. In all
the forehead is broad, more so than in any other people I have hitherto
seen. Their eyes are very beautiful and not small, and themselves far
from black, but the color of the Canarians. Nor should anything else be
expected, as this island is in a line east and west from the island of
Hierro in the Canaries. Their legs are very straight, all in one line,
and no belly, but very well formed. They came to the ship in small
canoes, made out of the trunk of a tree like a long boat, and all of one
piece, and wonderfully worked, considering the country. They are large,
some of them holding 40 to 45 men, others smaller, and some only large
enough to hold one man. They are propelled with a paddle like a baker’s
shovel, and go at a marvellous rate. If the canoe capsizes, they all
promptly begin to swim, and to bale it out with calabashes that they take
with them. They brought skeins of cotton thread, parrots, darts, and
other small things which it would be tedious to recount, and they give
all in exchange for anything that may be given to them. I was attentive,
and took trouble to ascertain if there was gold. I saw that some of them
had a small piece fastened in a hole they have in the nose, and by signs
I was able to make out that to the south, or going from the island to the
south, there was a king who had great cups full, and who possessed a
great quantity. I tried to get them to go there, but afterwards I saw
that they had no inclination. I resolved to wait until to-morrow in the
afternoon and then to depart, shaping a course to the S.W., for,
according to what many of them told me,[113] there was land to the S., to the
S.W., and N.W., and that the natives from the N.W. often came to attack
them, and went on to the S.W. in search of gold and precious stones.

“This island is rather large and very flat, with bright green trees, much
water, and a very large lake in the centre, without any mountain, and the
whole land so green that it is a pleasure to look on it. The people are
very docile, and for the longing to possess our things, and not having
anything to give in return, they take what they can get, and presently
swim away. Still, they give away all they have got, for whatever may be
given to them, down to broken bits of crockery and glass. I saw one give
16 skeins of cotton for three ceotis113-1 of Portugal, equal to one
blanca of Spain, the skeins being as much as an arroba of cotton
thread. I shall keep it, and shall allow no one to take it, preserving it
all for your Highnesses, for it may be obtained in abundance. It is grown
in this island, though the short time did not admit of my ascertaining
this for a certainty. Here also is found the gold they wear fastened in
their noses. But, in order not to lose time, I intend to go and see if I
can find the island of Cipango.113-2 Now, as it is night, all the
natives have gone on shore with their canoes.”

Sunday, 14th of October

“At dawn I ordered the ship’s boat and the boats of the caravels to be
got ready, and I went along the coast of the island and to the N.N.E., to
see the other side, which was on the other side to the east, and also to
see the villages. Presently I saw two or three, and the people all came
to the shore, calling out and giving thanks to God. Some of them brought
us water, others came with food, and when they saw that I did want to
land, they got into the sea, and came swimming to us. We understood that
they asked us if we had come from heaven. One old man came into the boat,
and others cried[114] out, in loud voices, to all the men and women, to come
and see the men who had come from heaven, and to bring them to eat and
drink. Many came, including women, each bringing something, giving thanks
to God, throwing themselves on the ground and shouting to us to come on
shore. But I was afraid to land, seeing an extensive reef of rocks which
surrounded the island, with deep water between it and the shore forming a
port large enough for as many ships as there are in Christendom, but with
a very narrow entrance. It is true that within this reef there are some
sunken rocks, but the sea has no more motion than the water in a well. In
order to see all this I went this morning, that I might be able to give a
full account to your Highnesses, and also where a fortress might be
established. I saw a piece of land which appeared like an island,
although it is not one, and on it there were six houses. It might be
converted into an island in two days, though I do not see that it would
be necessary, for these people are very simple as regards the use of
arms, as your Highnesses will see from the seven that I caused to be
taken, to bring home and learn our language and return; unless your
Highnesses should order them all to be brought to Castile, or to be kept
as captives on the same island; for with fifty men they can all be
subjugated and made to do what is required of them. Close to the above
peninsula there are gardens of the most beautiful trees I ever saw, and
with leaves as green as those of Castile in the month of April and May,
and much water. I examined all that port, and afterwards I returned to
the ship and made sail. I saw so many islands that I hardly knew how to
determine to which I should go first. Those natives I had with me said,
by signs, that there were so many that they could not be numbered, and
they gave the names of more than a hundred. At last I looked out for the
largest, and resolved to shape a course for it, and so I did. It will be
distant five leagues from this of San Salvador, and the others some
more, some less. All are very flat, and all are inhabited. The natives
make war on each other, although these are very simple-minded and
handsomely-formed people.”[115]

Monday, 15th of October

“I had laid by during the night, with the fear of reaching the land to
anchor before daylight,115-1 not knowing whether the coast was clear of
rocks, and at dawn I made sail. As the island was more than 5 leagues
distant and nearer 7, and the tide checked my way, it was noon when we
arrived at the said island. I found that side facing towards the island
of San Salvador trended north and south with a length of 5 leagues, and
the other which I followed ran east and west for more than 10
leagues.115-2 As from this island I saw another larger one to the west,
I clued up115-3 the sails, after having run all that day until night,
otherwise I could not have reached the western cape. I gave the name of
Santa Maria de la Concepcion115-4 to the island, and almost as the sun
set I anchored near the said cape to ascertain if it contained gold. For
the people I had taken from the island of San Salvador told me that here
they wore very large rings of gold on their arms and legs. I really
believed that all they said was nonsense, invented that they might
escape. My desire was not to pass any island without taking possession,
so that, one having been taken, the same may be said of all. I anchored,
and remained until to-day, Tuesday, when I went to the shore with the
boats armed, and landed. The people, who were numerous, went naked, and
were like those of the other island of San Salvador. They let us go over
the island, and gave us what we required. As the wind changed to the
S.E., I did not like to stay, and returned to the ship. A large canoe was
alongside the Niña, and one of the men of the island of San Salvador,
who was on board, jumped into the sea and got into the canoe. In the
middle of the night before, another swam away behind the canoe,[116] which
fled, for there never was boat that could have overtaken her, seeing that
in speed they have a great advantage.116-1 So they reached the land and
left the canoe. Some of my people went on shore in chase of them, but
they all fled like fowls and the canoe they had left was brought
alongside the caravel Niña, whither, from another direction, another
small canoe came, with a man who wished to barter with skeins of cotton.
Some sailors jumped into the sea, because he would not come on board the
caravel, and seized him. I was on the poop of my ship, and saw
everything. So I sent for the man, gave him a red cap, some small beads
of green glass, which I put on his arms, and small bells, which I put in
his ears, and ordered his canoe, which was also on board, to be returned
to him. I sent him on shore, and presently made sail to go to the other
large island which was in sight to the westward. I also ordered the other
large canoe, which the caravel Niña was towing astern, to be cast
adrift; and I soon saw that it reached the land at the same time as the
man to whom I had given the above things. I had not wished to take the
skein of cotton that he offered me. All the others came round him and
seemed astonished, for it appeared clear to them that we were good
people. The other man who had fled might do us some harm, because we had
carried him off, and for that reason I ordered this man to be set free
and gave him the above things, that he might think well of us, otherwise,
when your Highnesses again send an expedition, they might not be
friendly. All the presents I gave were not worth four maravedis. At 10 we
departed with the wind S.W., and made for the south, to reach that other
island, which is very large, and respecting which all the men that I
bring from San Salvador make signs that there is much gold, and that they
wear it as bracelets on the arms, on the legs, in the ears and nose, and
round the neck.[117] The distance of this island from that of Santa Maria is
9 leagues on a course east to west. All this part of the island trends
N.W. and S.E., and it appeared that this coast must have length of 28
leagues. It is very flat, without any mountain, like San Salvador and
Santa Maria, all being beach without rocks, except that there are some
sunken rocks near the land, whence it is necessary to keep a good lookout
when it is desired to anchor, and not to come to very near the land; but
the water is always very clear, and the bottom is visible. At a distance
of two shots of a lombard, there is, off all these islands, such a depth
that the bottom cannot be reached. These islands are very green and
fertile, the climate very mild. They may contain many things of which I
have no knowledge, for I do not wish to stop, in discovering and visiting
many islands, to find gold. These people make signs that it is worn on
the arms and legs; and it must be gold, for they point to some pieces
that I have. I cannot err, with the help of our Lord, in finding out
where this gold has its origin. Being in the middle of the channel
between these two islands, that is to say, that of Santa Maria and this
large one, to which I give the name of Fernandina,117-1 I came upon a
man alone in a canoe going from Santa Maria to Fernandina. He had a
little of their bread, about the size of a fist, a calabash of water, a
piece of brown earth powdered and then kneaded, and some dried leaves,
which must be a thing highly valued by them,117-2 for they bartered
with it at San Salvador. He also had with him a native basket with a
string of glass beads, and two blancas, by which I knew that he had
come from the island of San Salvador, and had been to Santa Maria, and
thence to Fernandina. He came alongside the ship, and I made him come on
board as he desired, also getting the canoe inboard, after taking care of
all his property. I ordered him to be given to eat bread and treacle, and
also to drink: and so I shall take him on to Fernandina, where I shall
return everything to him, order that he may give a good account of us,
that, our[118] Lord pleasing, when your Highnesses shall send here, those who
come may receive honor, and that the natives may give them all they
require.”

Tuesday, 16th of October

“I sailed from the island of Santa Maria de la Concepcion at about noon,
to go to Fernandina Island, which appeared very large to the westward,
and I navigated all that day with light winds. I could not arrive in time
to be able to see the bottom, so as to drop the anchor on a clear place,
for it is necessary to be very careful not to lose the anchors. So I
stood off and on all that night until day, when I came to an inhabited
place where I anchored, and whence that man had come that I found
yesterday in the canoe in mid channel. He had given such a good report of
us that there was no want of canoes alongside the ship all that night,
which brought us water and what they had to offer. I ordered each one to
be given something, such as a few beads, ten or twelve of those made of
glass on a thread, some timbrels made of brass such as are worth a
maravedi in Spain, and some straps, all which they looked upon as most
excellent. I also ordered them to be given treacle to eat when they came
on board. At three o’clock118-1 I sent the ship’s boat on shore for
water, and the natives with good will showed my people where the water
was, and they themselves brought the full casks down to the boat, and did
all they could to please us.

“This island is very large, and I have determined to sail round it,
because, so far as I can understand, there is a mine in or near it. The
island is eight leagues from Santa Maria, nearly east and west; and this
point I had reached, as well as all the coast, trends N.N.W. and S.S.E. I
saw at least 20 leagues of it, and then it had not ended. Now, as I am
writing this, I made sail with the wind at the south, to sail round the
island,[119] and to navigate until I find Samaot, which is the island or city
where there is gold, as all the natives say who are on board, and as
those of San Salvador and Santa Maria told us. These people resemble
those of the said islands, with the same language and customs, except
that these appear to me a rather more domestic and tractable people, yet
also more subtle. For I observed that those who brought cotton and other
trifles to the ship, knew better than the others how to make a bargain.
In this island I saw cotton cloths made like mantles. The people were
better disposed, and the women wore in front of their bodies a small
piece of cotton which scarcely covered them.

“It is a very green island, level and very fertile, and I have no doubt
that they sow and gather corn119-1 all the year round, as well as other
things. I saw many trees very unlike those of our country. Many of them
have their branches growing in different ways and all from one trunk, and
one twig is one form, and another in a different shape, and so unlike
that it is the greatest wonder in the world to see the great diversity;
thus one branch has leaves like those of a cane, and others like those of
a mastick tree: and on a single tree there are five or six different
kinds. Nor are these grafted, for it may be said that grafting is
unknown, the trees being wild, and untended by these people. They do not
know any religion, and I believe they could easily be converted to
Christianity, for they are very intelligent. Here the fish are so unlike
ours that it is wonderful. Some are the shape of dories, and of the
finest colors in the world, blue, yellow, red, and other tints, all
painted in various ways, and the colors are so bright that there is not a
man who would not be astonished, and would not take great delight in
seeing them. There are also whales. I saw no beasts on the land of any
kind, except parrots and lizards. A boy told me that he saw a large
serpent. I saw[120] neither sheep, nor goats, nor any other quadruped. It is
true I have been here a short time, since noon,120-1 yet I could not
have failed to see some if there had been any. I will write respecting
the circuit of this island after I have been round it.”

Wednesday, 17th of October

“At noon I departed from the village off which I was anchored, and where
I took in water, to sail round this island of Fernandina. The wind was
S.W. and South. My wish was to follow the coast of this island to the
S.E., from where I was, the whole coast trending N.N.W. and S.S.E.;
because all the Indians I bring with me, and others, made signs to this
southern quarter, as the direction of the island they call Samoet, where
the gold is. Martin Alonso Pinzon, captain of the caravel Pinta, on
board of which I had three of the Indians, came to me and said that one
of them had given him to understand very positively that the island might
be sailed round much quicker by shaping a N.N.W. course. I saw that the
wind would not help me to take the course I desired, and that it was fair
for the other, so I made sail to the N.N.W. When I was two leagues from
the cape of the island, I discovered a very wonderful harbor.120-2 It
has one mouth, or, rather, it may be said to have two, for there is an
islet in the middle. Both are very narrow, and within it is wide enough
for a hundred ships, if there was depth and a clean bottom, and the
entrance was deep enough. It seemed desirable to explore it and take
soundings, so I anchored outside, and went in with all the ship’s boats,
when we saw there was insufficient depth. As I thought, when I first saw
it, that it was the mouth of some river, I ordered the water-casks to be
brought. On shore I found eight or ten men, who presently came to us and
showed us the village, whither I sent the people for water, some with
arms, and others with the casks; and, as it was some little distance, I
waited two hours for them.[121]

“During that time I walked among the trees, which was the most beautiful
thing I had ever seen, beholding as much verdure as in the month of May
in Andalusia. The trees are unlike ours as night from day, as are the
fruits, the herbs, the stones, and everything. It is true that some of
the trees bore some resemblance to those in Castile, but most of them are
very different, and some were so unlike that no one could compare them to
anything in Castile. The people were all like those already mentioned:
like them naked, and the same size. They give what they possess in
exchange for anything that may be given to them. I here saw some of the
ship’s boys bartering broken bits of glass and crockery for darts. The
men who went for water told me that they had been in the houses of the
natives, and that they were very plain and clean inside. Their beds and
bags for holding things121-1 were like nets of cotton.121-2 The
houses are like booths, and very high, with good chimneys.121-3 But,
among many villages that I saw, there was none that consisted of more
than from twelve to fifteen houses. Here they found that the married
women wore clouts of cotton, but not the young girls, except a few who
were over eighteen years of age. They had dogs, mastiffs, and
hounds;121-4 and here they found a man who had a piece of gold in his
nose, the size of half a castellano,121-5 on which they saw letters.
I quarrelled with these people because they would not exchange or give
what was required; as I wished to see[122] what and whose this money was; and
they replied that they were not accustomed to barter.

“After the water was taken I returned to the ship, made sail, and shaped
a course N.W., until I had discovered all the part of the coast of the
island which trends east to west. Then all the Indians turned round and
said that this island was smaller than Samoet, and that it would be well
to return back so as to reach it sooner. The wind presently went down and
then sprang up from W.N.W., which was contrary for us to continue on the
previous course. So I turned back, and navigated all that night to
E.S.E., sometimes to east and to S.E. This course was steered to keep me
clear of the land, for there were very heavy clouds and thick weather,
which did not admit of my approaching the land to anchor. On that night
it rained very heavily from midnight until nearly dawn, and even
afterwards the clouds threatened rain. We found ourselves at the S.W. end
of the island, where I hoped to anchor until it cleared up, so as to see
the other island whither I have to go. On all these days, since I arrived
in these Indies, it has rained more or less. Your Highnesses may believe
that this land is the best and most fertile, and with a good climate,
level, and as good as there is in the world.”

Thursday, 18th of October

“After it had cleared up I went before the wind, approaching the island
as near as I could, and anchored when it was no longer light enough to
keep under sail. But I did not go on shore, and made sail at dawn….”

Friday, 19th of October

“I weighed the anchors at daylight, sending the caravel Pinta on an
E.S.E. course, the caravel Niña S.S.E., while I shaped a S.E. course,
giving orders that these courses were to be steered until noon, and that
then the two caravels should alter course so as to join company with me.
Before we had[123] sailed for three hours we saw an island to the east, for
which we steered, and all three vessels arrived at the north point before
noon. Here there is an islet, and a reef of rocks to seaward of it,
besides one between the islet and the large island. The men of San
Salvador, whom I bring with me, called it Saomete, and I gave it the name
of Isabella.123-1 The wind was north and the said islet bore from the
island of Fernandina, whence I had taken my departure, east and west.
Afterwards we ran along the coast of the island, westward from the islet,
and found its length to be 12 leagues as far as a cape, which I named
Cabo Hermoso, at the western end. The island is beautiful, and the coast
very deep, without sunken rocks off it. Outside the shore is rocky, but
further in there is a sandy beach, and here I anchored on that Friday
night until morning. This coast and the part of the island I saw is
almost flat, and the island is very beautiful; for if the other islands
are lovely, this is more so. It has many very green trees, which are very
large. The land is higher than in the other islands, and in it there are
some hills, which cannot be called mountains: and it appears that there
is much water inland. From this point to the N.E. the coast makes a great
angle, and there are many thick and extensive groves. I wanted to go and
anchor there, so as to go on shore and see so much beauty; but the water
was shallow, and we could only anchor at a distance from the land. The
wind also was fair for going to this cape, where I am now anchored, to
which I gave the name of Cabo Hermoso,123-2 because it is so. Thus it
was that I do not anchor in that angle, but as I saw this cape so green
and so beautiful, like all the other lands of these islands, I scarcely
knew which to visit first; for I can never tire my eyes in looking at
such lovely vegetation, so different from ours. I believe that there are
many herbs and many trees that are worth much in Europe for dyes and for
medicines; but I do not know them, and this causes me great sorrow.
Arriving at this cape, I found the smell of the trees sand flowers so
delicious that it seemed the pleasantest thing in the world.[124] To-morrow,
before I leave this place, I shall go on shore to see what there is at
this cape. There are no people, but there are villages in the interior,
where, the Indians I bring with me say, there is a king who has much
gold. To-morrow I intend to go so far inland as to find the village, and
see and have some speech with this king, who, according to the signs they
make, rules over all the neighboring islands, goes about clothed, and
wears much gold on his person. I do not give much faith to what they say,
as well because I do not understand them well as because they are so poor
in gold that even a little that this king may have would appear much to
them. This cape, to which I have given the name of Cabo Fermoso, is, I
believe, on an island separated from Saometo, and there is another small
islet between them. I did not try to examine them in detail, because it
could not be done in 50 years. For my desire is to see and discover as
much as I can before returning to your Highnesses, our Lord willing, in
April. It is true that in the event of finding places where there is gold
or spices in quantity I should stop until I had collected as much as I
could. I, therefore, proceed in the hope of coming across such places.”

Saturday, 20th of October

“To-day, at sunrise, I weighed the anchors from where I was with the
ship, and anchored off the S.W. point of the island of Saometo, to which
I gave the name of Cabo de la Laguna, and to the island Isabella. My
intention was to navigate to the north-east and east from the south-east
and south, where, I understood from the Indians I brought with me, was
the village of the king. I found the sea so shallow that I could not
enter nor navigate in it, and I saw that to follow a route by the
south-east would be a great round. So I determined to return by the route
that I had taken from the N.N.E. to the western part, and to sail round
this island to [reconnoitre it].

“I had so little wind that I never could sail along the coast,[125] except
during the night. As it was dangerous to anchor off these islands except
in the day, when one can see where to let the anchor, for the bottom is
all in patches, some clear and some rocky, I lay to all this Sunday
night. The caravels anchored because they found themselves near the
shore, and they thought that, owing to the signals that they were in the
habit of making, I would come to anchor, but I did not wish to do so.”

Sunday, 21st of October

“At ten o’clock I arrived here, off this islet, and anchored, as well as
the caravels. After breakfast I went on shore, and found only one house,
in which there was no one, and I supposed they had fled from fear,
because all their property was left in the house. I would not allow
anything to be touched, but set out with the captains and people to
explore the island. If the others already seen are very beautiful, green,
and fertile, this is much more so, with large trees and very green. Here
there are large lagoons with wonderful vegetation on their banks.
Throughout the island all is green, and the herbage like April in
Andalusia. The songs of the birds were so pleasant that it seemed as if a
man could never wish to leave the place. The flocks of parrots concealed
the sun; and the birds were so numerous, and of so many different kinds,
that it was wonderful. There are trees of a thousand sorts, and all have
their several fruits; and I feel the most unhappy man in the world not to
know them, for I am well assured that they are all valuable. I bring home
specimens of them, and also of the land. Thus walking along round one of
the lakes I saw a serpent, which we killed, and I bring home the skin for
your Highnesses. As soon as it saw us it went into the lagoon, and we
followed, as the water was not very deep, until we killed it with lances.
It is 7 spans long, and I believe that there are many like it in these
lagoons.125-1 Here[126] I came upon some aloes, and I have determined to
take ten quintals on board to-morrow, for they tell me that they are
worth a good deal. Also, while in search of good water, we came to a
village about half a league from our anchorage. The people, as soon as
they heard us, all fled and left their houses, hiding their property in
the wood. I would not allow a thing to be touched, even the value of a
pin. Presently some men among them came to us, and one came quite close.
I gave him some bells and glass beads, which made him very content and
happy. That our friendship might be further increased, I resolved to ask
him for something; I requested him to get some water. After I had gone on
board, the natives came to the beach with calabashes full of water, and
they delighted much in giving it to us. I ordered another string of glass
beads to be presented to them, and they said they would come again
to-morrow. I wished to fill up all the ships with water at this place,
and, if there should be time, I intended to search the island until I had
had speech with the king, and seen whether he had the gold of which I had
heard. I shall then shape a course for another much larger island, which
I believe to be Cipango, judging from the signs made by the Indians I
bring with me. They call it Cuba, and they say that there are ships and
many skilful sailors there. Beyond this island there is another called
Bosio,126-1 which they also say is very large, and others we shall see
as we pass, lying between. According as I obtain tidings of gold or
spices I shall settle what should be done. I am still resolved to go to
the mainland and the city of Guisay,126-2 and to deliver the letters of
your Highnesses to the Gran Can, requesting a reply and returning with
it.”[127]

Monday, 22nd of October

“All last night and to-day I was here, waiting to see if the king or
other person would bring gold or anything of value. Many of these people
came, like those of the other islands, equally naked, and equally
painted, some white, some red, some black, and others in many ways. They
brought darts and skeins of cotton to barter, which they exchanged with
the sailors for bits of glass, broken crockery, and pieces of
earthenware. Some of them had pieces of gold fastened in their noses,
which they willingly gave for a hawk’s bell and glass beads. But there
was so little that it counts for nothing. It is true that they looked
upon any little thing that I gave them as a wonder, and they held our
arrival to be a great marvel, believing that we came from heaven. We got
water for the ships from a lagoon which is near the Cabo del Isleo (Cape
of the Islet), as we named it. In the said lagoon Martin Alonso Pinzon,
captain of the Pinta, killed another serpent 7 spans long, like the
one we got yesterday. I made them gather here as much of the aloe as they
could find.”

Tuesday, 23rd of October

“I desired to set out to-day for the island of Cuba, which I think must
be Cipango, according to the signs these people make, indicative of its
size and riches, and I did not delay any more here nor [attempt to sail]
…127-1 round this island to the residence of this king or lord, and
have speech with him, as I had intended. This would cause me much delay,
and I see that there is no gold mine here. To sail round would need
several winds, for it does not blow here as men may wish. It is better to
go where there is great entertainment, so I say that it is not reasonable
to wait, but rather to continue the voyage and inspect much land, until
some very profitable country is reached, my belief being that it will be
rich in spices. That I have no personal knowledge of these[128] products
causes me the greatest sorrow in the world, for I see a thousand kinds of
trees, each one with its own special fruit, all green now as in Spain
during the months of May and June, as well as a thousand kinds of herbs
with their flowers; yet I know none of them except this aloe, of which I
ordered a quantity to be brought on board to bring to your Highnesses. I
have not made sail for Cuba because there is no wind, but a dead calm
with much rain. It rained a great deal yesterday without causing any
cold. On the contrary, the days are hot and the nights cool, like May in
Andalusia.”

Wednesday, 24th of October

“At midnight I weighed the anchors and left the anchorage at Cabo del
Isleo, in the island of Isabella.128-1 From the northern side, where I
was, I intended to go to the island of Cuba, where I heard of the people
who were very great, and had gold, spices, merchandise, and large ships.
They showed me that the course thither would be W.S.W., and so I hold.
For I believe that it is so, as all the Indians of these islands, as well
as those I brought with me in the ships, told me by signs. I cannot
understand their language, but I believe that it is of the island of
Cipango that they recount these wonders.128-2 On the spheres I saw, and
on the delineations of the map of the world,128-3 Cipango is in this
region. So I shaped a course W.S.W. until daylight, but at dawn it fell
calm and began to rain, and went on nearly all night. I remained thus,
with little wind,[129] until the afternoon, when it began to blow fresh. I
set all the sails in the ship, the mainsail with two bonnets, the
foresail, spritsail, mizzen, main topsail, and the boat’s sail on the
poop. So I proceeded until nightfall, when the Cabo Verde of the island
of Fernandina, which is at the S.W. end, bore N.W. distant 7 leagues. As
it was now blowing hard, and I did not know how far it was to this island
of Cuba, I resolved not to go in search of it during the night; all these
islands being very steep-to, with no bottom round them for a distance of
two shots of a lombard. The bottom is all in patches, one bit of sand and
another of rock, and for this reason it is not safe to anchor without
inspection with the eye. So I determined to take in all the sails except
the foresail, and to go on under that reduced canvas. Soon the wind
increased, while the route was doubtful, and there was very thick
weather, with rain. I ordered the foresail to be furled, and we did not
make two leagues during that night.”

Thursday, 25th of October

“I steered W.S.W. from after sunset until 9 o’clock, making 5 leagues.
Afterwards I altered course to west, and went 8 miles an hour until one
in the afternoon; and from that time until three made good 44 miles. Then
land was sighted, consisting of 7 or 8 islands, the group running north
and south, distant from us 5 leagues.”

Friday, 26th of October

“The ship was on the south side of the islands, which were all low,
distant 5 or 6 leagues. I anchored there. The Indians129-1 on board
said that thence to Cuba was a voyage in their canoes of a day and a
half; these being small dug-outs without a sail. Such are their canoes. I
departed thence for Cuba,[130] for by the signs the Indians made of its
greatness, and of its gold and pearls, I thought that it must be
Cipango.”

Saturday, 27th of October

“I weighed from these islands at sunrise, and gave them the name of Las
Islas de Arena, owing to the little depth the sea had for a distance of 6
leagues to the southward of them. We went 8 miles an hour on a S.S.W.
course until one o’clock having made 40 miles. Until night we had run 28
miles on the same course, and before dark the land was sighted. At night
there was much rain. The vessels, on Saturday until sunset, made 17
leagues on a S.S.W. course.”

Sunday, 28th of October

“I went thence in search of the island of Cuba on a S.S.W. course, making
for the nearest point of it, and entered a very beautiful river without
danger of sunken rocks or other impediments. All the coast was clear of
dangers up to the shore. The mouth of the river was 12 brazas across,
and it is wide enough for a vessel to beat in.130-1 I anchored about a
lombard-shot inside.” The Admiral says that “he never beheld such a
beautiful place, with trees bordering the river, handsome, green, and
different from ours, having fruits and flowers each one according to its
nature. There are many birds, which sing very sweetly. There are a great
number of palm trees of a different kind from those in Guinea and from
ours, of a middling height, the trunks without that covering, and the
leaves very large, with which they thatch their houses. The country is
very level.” The Admiral jumped into his boat and went on shore. He came
to two houses, which he believed to belong to fishermen who had fled from
fear. In one of them he found a kind of dog that never barks, and in both
there were nets of[131] palm-fibre and cordage, as well as horn fish-hooks,
bone harpoons, and other apparatus “for fishing, and several hearths. He
believed that many people lived together in one house. He gave orders
that nothing in the houses should be touched, and so it was done.” The
herbage was as thick as in Andalusia during April and May. He found much
purslane and wild amaranth.131-1 He returned to the boat and went up
the river for some distance, and he says it was great pleasure to see the
bright verdure, and the birds, which he could not leave to go back. He
says that this island is the most beautiful that eyes have seen, full of
good harbors and deep rivers, and the sea appeared as if it never rose;
for the herbage on the beach nearly reached the waves, which does not
happen where the sea is rough. (Up to that time they had not experienced
a rough sea among all those islands.) He says that the island is full of
very beautiful mountains, although they are not very extensive as regards
length, but high; and all the country is high like Sicily. It is
abundantly supplied with water, as they gathered from the Indians they
had taken with them from the island of Guanahani. These said by signs
that there are ten great rivers, and that they cannot go round the island
in twenty days. When they came near land with the ships, two canoes came
out; and, when they saw the sailors get into a boat and row about to find
the depth of the river where they could anchor, the canoes fled. The
Indians say that in this island there are gold mines and pearls, and the
Admiral saw a likely place for them and mussel-shells, which are signs of
them. He understood that large ships of the Gran Can came here, and that
from here to the mainland was a voyage of ten days.131-2 The Admiral
called this river and harbor San Salvador.131-3[132]

Monday, 29th of October

The Admiral weighed anchor from this port and sailed to the westward, to
go to the city, where, as it seemed, the Indians said that there was a
king. They doubled a point six leagues to the N.W.,132-1 and then
another point,132-2 then east ten leagues. After another league he saw
a river with no very large entrance, to which he gave the name of Rio de
la Luna.132-3 He went on until the hour of vespers. He saw another
river much larger than the others, as the Indians told him by signs, and
near he saw goodly villages of houses. He called the river Rio de
Mares.132-4 He sent two boats on shore to a village to communicate, and
one of the Indians he had brought with him, for now they understood a
little, and show themselves content with Christians. All the men, women,
and children fled, abandoning their houses with all they contained. The
Admiral gave orders that nothing should be touched. The houses were
better than those he had seen before, and he believed that the houses
would improve as he approached the mainland. They were made like booths,
very large, and looking like tents in a camp without regular streets, but
one here and another there. Within they were clean and well swept, with
the furniture well made. All are of palm branches beautifully
constructed. They found many images in the shape of women, and many heads
like masks,132-5 very well carved. It was not known whether these were
used as ornaments, or to be worshipped. They had dogs which never bark,
and wild birds tamed in their houses. There was a wonderful supply of
nets and other fishing implements, but nothing was touched. He believed
that all the people on the coast were fishermen, who took the fish
inland, for this island is very large, and so beautiful, that he is never
tired of praising it. He says that he found trees[133] and fruits of very
marvellous taste; and adds that they must have cows or other cattle, for
he saw skulls which were like those of cows.133-1 The songs of the
birds and the chirping of crickets throughout the night lulled everyone
to rest, while the air was soft and healthy, and the nights neither hot
nor cold. On the voyage through the other islands there was great heat
but here it is tempered like the month of May. He attributed the heat of
the other islands to their flatness, and to the wind coming from the
east, which is hot. The water of the rivers was salt at the mouth, and
they did not know whence the natives got their drinking-water, though
they have sweet water in their houses. Ships are able to turn in this
river, both entering and coming out, and there are very good
leading-marks. He says that all this sea appears to be constantly smooth,
like the river at Seville, and the water suitable for the growth of
pearls. He found large shells unlike those of Spain. Remarking on the
position of the river and port, to which he gave the name of San
Salvador,133-2 he describes its mountains as lofty and beautiful, like
the Peña de las Enamoradas,133-3 and one of them has another little
hill on its summit, like a graceful mosque. The other river and port, in
which he now was,133-4 has two round mountains to the S.W., and a fine
low cape running out to the W.S.W.

Tuesday, 30th of October

He left the Rio de Mares and steered N.W., seeing a cape covered with
palm trees, to which he gave the name of Cabo de Palmas,133-5 after
having made good 15 leagues. The Indians on board the caravel Pinta
said that beyond that cape there was[134] a river,134-1 and that from the
river to Cuba it was four days’ journey. The captain of the Pinta
reported that he understood from that, that this Cuba was a city, and
that the land was a great continent trending far to the north. The king
of that country, he gathered, was at war with the Gran Can, whom they
called Cami, and his land or city Fava, with many other names. The
Admiral resolved to proceed to that river, and to send a present, with
the letter of the Sovereigns,134-2 to the king of that land. For this
service there was a sailor who had been to Guinea, and some of the
Indians of Guanahani wished to go with him, and afterwards to return to
their homes. The Admiral calculated that he was forty-two degrees to the
north of the equinoctial line (but the handwriting is here
illegible).134-3 He says that he must attempt to reach the Gran Can,
who he thought was here or at the city of Cathay,134-4 which belongs to
him, and is very grand, as he was informed before leaving Spain. All this
land, he adds, is low and beautiful, and the sea deep.

Wednesday, 31st of October

All Tuesday night he was beating to windward, and he saw a river, but
could not enter it because the entrance was narrow. The Indians fancied
that the ships could enter wherever their canoes could go. Navigating
onwards, he came to a cape running out very far, and surrounded by sunken
rocks,134-5[135] and he saw a bay where small vessels might take shelter.
He could not proceed because the wind had come round to the north, and
all the coast runs N.W. and S.E. Another cape further on ran out still
more.135-1 For these reasons, and because the sky showed signs of a
gale, he had to return to the Rio de Mares.

Thursday, November the 1st

At sunrise the Admiral sent the boats on shore to the houses that were
there, and they found that all the people had fled. After some time a man
made his appearance. The Admiral ordered that he should be left to
himself, and the sailors returned to the boats. After dinner, one of the
Indians on board was sent on shore. He called out from a distance that
there was nothing to fear, because the strangers were good people and
would do no harm to anyone, nor were they people of the Gran Can, but
they had given away their things in many islands where they had been. The
Indian then swam on shore, and two of the natives took him by the arms
and brought him to a house, where they heard what he had to say. When
they were certain that no harm would be done to them they were reassured,
and presently more than sixteen canoes came to the ships with
cotton-thread and other trifles. The Admiral ordered that nothing should
be taken from them, that they might understand that he sought for nothing
but gold, which they call nucay.135-2 Thus they went to and fro
between the ships and the shore all day, and they came to the Christians
on shore with confidence. The Admiral saw no gold whatever among them,
but he says that he saw one of them with a piece of worked silver
fastened to his nose. They said, by signs, that within three days many
merchants from inland would come to buy the things brought by the
Christians, and would give information respecting the king of that land.
So far as could[136] be understood from their signs, he resided at a distance
of four days’ journey. They had sent many messengers in all directions,
with news of the arrival of the Admiral. “These people,” says the
Admiral, “are of the same appearance and have the same customs as those
of the other islands, without any religion so far as I know, for up to
this day I have never seen the Indians on board say any prayer; though
they repeat the Salve and Ave Maria with their hands raised to
heaven, and they make the sign of the cross. The language is also the
same, and they are all friends; but I believe that all these islands are
at war with the Gran Can, whom they called Cavila, and his province
Bafan. They all go naked like the others.” This is what the Admiral says.
“The river,” he adds, “is very deep, and the ships can enter the mouth,
going close to the shore. The sweet water does not come within a league
of the mouth. It is certain,” says the Admiral, “that this is the
mainland, and that I am in front of Zayto and Guinsay, a hundred leagues,
a little more or less, distant the one from the other.136-1 It is very
clear that no one before has been so far as this by sea. Yesterday, with
wind from the N.W., I found it cold.”

Friday, 2nd of November

The Admiral decided upon sending two Spaniards, one named Rodrigo de
Jerez, who lived in Ayamonte, and the other Luis de Torres, who had
served in the household of the Ade[137]lantado of Murcia, and had been a Jew,
knowing Hebrew, Chaldee, and even some Arabic. With these men he sent two
Indians, one from among those he had brought from Guanahani and another a
native of the houses by the river-side. He gave them strings of beads
with which to buy food if they should be in need, and ordered them to
return in six days. He gave them specimens of spices, to see if any were
to be found. Their instructions were to ask for the king of that land,
and they were told what to say on the part of the Sovereigns of Castile,
how they had sent the Admiral with letters and a present, to inquire
after his health and establish friendship, favoring him in what he might
desire from them. They were to collect information respecting certain
provinces, ports, and rivers of which the Admiral had notice, and to
ascertain their distances from where he was.

This night the Admiral took an altitude with a quadrant, and found that
the distance from the equinoctial line was 42 degrees.137-1 He says
that, by his reckoning, he finds that he has gone over 1142 leagues from
the island of Hierro.137-2 He still believes that he has reached the
mainland.

Saturday, 3rd of November

In the morning the Admiral got into the boat, and, as the river is like a
great lake at the mouth, forming a very excellent port, very deep, and
clear of rocks, with a good beach for careening ships, and plenty of
fuel, he explored it until he came to fresh water at a distance of two
leagues from the mouth. He ascended a small mountain to obtain a view of
the surrounding country, but could see nothing, owing to the dense
foliage of the trees, which were very fresh and odoriferous, so that he
felt no doubt that there were aromatic herbs among them. He said that all
he saw was so beautiful that his eyes could never tire of gazing upon
such loveliness, nor his ears of listening to the songs of birds. That
day many canoes came[138] to the ships, to barter with cotton threads and
with the nets in which they sleep, called hamacas.

Sunday, 4th of November

At sunrise the Admiral again went away in the boat, and landed to hunt
the birds he had seen the day before. After a time, Martin Alonso Pinzon
came to him with two pieces of cinnamon, and said that a Portuguese, who
was one of his crew, had seen an Indian carrying two very large bundles
of it; but he had not bartered for it, because of the penalty imposed by
the Admiral on any one who bartered. He further said that this Indian
carried some brown things like nutmegs. The master138-1 of the Pinta
said that he had found the cinnamon trees. The Admiral went to the place,
and found that they were not cinnamon trees. The Admiral showed the
Indians some specimens of cinnamon and pepper he had brought from
Castile, and they knew it, and said, by signs, that there was plenty in
the vicinity, pointing to the S.E. He also showed them gold and pearls,
on which certain old men said that there was an infinite quantity in a
place called Bohio,138-2 and that the people wore it on their necks,
ears, arms, and legs, as well as pearls. He further understood them to
say that there were great ships and much merchandise, all to the S.E. He
also understood that, far away, there were men with one eye, and others
with dogs’ noses138-3 who were cannibals, and that when they captured
an enemy, they beheaded him and drank his blood, and cut off his private
parts.[139]

The Admiral then determined to return to the ship and wait the return of
the two men he had sent, intending to depart and seek for those lands, if
his envoys brought some good news touching what he desired. The Admiral
further says: “These people are very gentle and timid; they go naked, as
I have said without arms and without law. The country is very fertile.
The people have plenty of mames which are like carrots and have the
flavor of chestnuts; and they have faxones and beans of kinds very
different from ours.139-1 They also have much cotton, which they do not
sow, as it is wild in the mountains, and I believe they collect it
throughout the year, because I saw pods empty, others full, and flowers
all on one tree. There are a thousand other kinds of fruits, which it is
impossible for me to write about, and all must be profitable.” All this
the Admiral says.

Monday, 5th of November

This morning the Admiral ordered the ship to be careened, afterwards the
other vessels, but not all at the same time. Two were always to be at the
anchorage, as a precaution; although he says that these people were very
safe, and that without fear all the vessels might have been careened at
the same time. Things being in this state, the master139-2 of the
Niña came to claim a reward from the Admiral because he had found
mastic, but he did not bring the specimen, as[140] he had dropped it. The
Admiral promised him a reward, and sent Rodrigo Sanchez and master Diego
to the trees. They collected some, which was kept to present to the
Sovereigns, as well as the tree. The Admiral says that he knew it was
mastic, though it ought to be gathered at the proper season. There is
enough in that district for a yield of 1000 quintals every year. The
Admiral also found here a great deal of the plant called aloe. He further
says that the Puerto de Mares is the best in the world, with the finest
climate and the most gentle people. As it has a high, rocky cape, a
fortress might be built, so that, in the event of the place becoming rich
and important, the merchants would be safe from any other nations. He
adds: “The Lord, in whose hands are all victories, will ordain all things
for his service. An Indian said by signs that the mastic was good for
pains in the stomach.”

Tuesday, 6th of November

Yesterday, at night, says the Admiral, the two men came back who had been
sent to explore the interior. They said that after walking 12 leagues
they came to a village of 50 houses, where there were a thousand
inhabitants, for many live in one house. These houses are like very large
booths. They said that they were received with great solemnity, according
to custom, and all, both men and women, came out to see them. They were
lodged in the best houses, and the people touched them, kissing their
hands and feet, marvelling and believing that they came from heaven, and
so they gave them to understand. They gave them to eat of what they had.
When they arrived, the chief people conducted them by the arms to the
principal house, gave them two chairs on which to sit, and all the
natives sat round them on the ground. The Indian who came with them
described the manner of living of the Christians, and said that they were
good people. Presently the men went out, and the women came sitting round
them in the same way, kissing their hands and feet, and looking to see if
they were of flesh and bones like themselves. They[141] begged the Spaniards
to remain with them at least five days. The Spaniards showed the natives
specimens of cinnamon, pepper and other spices which the Admiral had
given them, and they said, by signs, that there was plenty at a short
distance from thence to S.E., but that there they did not know whether
there was any.141-1 Finding that they had no information respecting
cities, the Spaniards returned; and if they had desired to take those who
wished to accompany them, more than 500 men and women would have come,
because they thought the Spaniards were returning to heaven. There came,
however, a principal man of the village and his son, with a servant. The
Admiral conversed with them, and showed them much honor. They made signs
respecting many lands and islands in those parts. The Admiral thought of
bringing them to the Sovereigns. He says that he knew not what fancy took
them; either from fear, or owing to the dark night, they wanted to land.
The ship was at the time high and dry, but, not wishing to make them
angry, he let them go on their saying that they would return at dawn, but
they never came back. The two Christians met with many people on the road
going home, men and women with a half-burnt weed in their hands, being
the herbs they are accustomed to smoke.141-2 They[142] did not find
villages on the road of more than five houses all receiving them with the
same reverence. They saw many kinds of trees, herbs, and sweet-smelling
flowers; and birds of many different kinds, unlike those of Spain, except
the partridges, geese, of which there are many, and singing nightingales.
They saw no quadrupeds except the dogs that do not bark.142-1 The land
is very fertile, and is cultivated with yams and several kinds of beans
different from ours, as well as corn.142-2 There were great quantities
of cotton gathered, spun, and worked up. In a single house they saw more
than 500 arrobas,142-3 and as much as 4000 quintals could be
yielded every year. The Admiral said that “it did not appear to be
cultivated, and that it bore all the year round. It is very fine, and has
a large boll. All that was possessed by these people they gave at a very
low price, and a great bundle of cotton was exchanged for the point of a
needle or other trifle. They are a people,” says the Admiral, “guileless
and unwarlike. Men and women go as naked as when their mothers bore them.
It is true that the women wear a very small piece of cotton-cloth which
covers their private parts and no more, and they are of very good
appearance, not very dark, less so than the Canarians. I hold, most
serene Princes, that if devout religious persons were here, knowing the
language, they would all turn Christians. I trust in our Lord that your
Highnesses will resolve upon this with much diligence, to bring so many
great nations within the Church, and to convert them; as you have
destroyed those who would not confess the Father, the Son, and the Holy[143]
Ghost. And after your days, all of us being mortal, may your kingdoms
remain in peace, and free from heresy and evil, and may you be well
received before the eternal Creator, to whom I pray that you may have
long life and great increase of kingdoms and lordships, with the will and
disposition to increase the holy Christian religion as you have done
hitherto. Amen!”

“To-day I got the ship afloat, and prepared to depart on Thursday, in the
name of God, and to steer S.E. in search of gold and spices, and to
discover land.”

These are the words of the Admiral, who intended to depart on Thursday,
but, the wind being contrary, he could not go until the 12th of November.

Monday, 12th of November

The Admiral left the port and river of Mares before dawn to visit the
island called Babeque, so much talked of by the Indians on board, where,
according to their signs, the people gather the gold on the beach at
night with candles, and afterwards beat it into bars with hammers.143-1
To go thither it was necessary to shape a course E. b. S. After having
made 8 leagues along the coast, a river was sighted, and another 4
leagues brought them to another river, which appeared to be of great
volume, and larger than any they had yet seen. The Admiral did not wish
to stop nor to enter any of these rivers, for two reasons: the first and
principal one being that wind and weather were favorable for going in
search of the said island of Babeque; the other, that, if there was a
populous and famous city near the sea, it would be visible, while, to go
up the rivers, small vessels are necessary, which those of the expedition
were not. Much time would thus be lost; moreover, exploration of such
rivers is a separate enterprise, that coast was peopled near the river,
to which the name of Rio del Sol was given.[144]

The Admiral says that, on the previous Sunday, the 11th of November, it
seemed good to take some persons from amongst those at Rio de Mares, to
bring to the Sovereigns, that they might learn our language, so as to be
able to tell us what there is in their lands. Returning, they would be
the mouthpieces of the Christians, and would adopt our customs and the
things of the faith. “I saw and knew” (says the Admiral) “that these
people are without any religion, not idolaters, but very gentle, not
knowing what is evil, nor the sins of murder and theft, being without
arms, and so timid that a hundred would fly before one Spaniard, although
they joke with them.144-1 They, however, believe and know that there is
a God in heaven and say that we have come from Heaven. At any prayer that
we say, they repeat, and make the sign of the cross. Thus your Highnesses
should resolve to make them Christians, for I believe that, if the work
was begun, in a little time a multitude of nations would be converted to
our faith, with the acquisition of great lordships, peoples, and riches
for Spain. Without doubt, there is in these lands a vast quantity of
gold, and the Indians I have on board do not speak without reason when
they say that in these islands there are places where they dig out gold,
and wear it on their necks, ears, arms, and legs, the rings being very
large. There are also precious stones, pearls, and an infinity of spices.
In this river of Mares, whence we departed to-night, there is undoubtedly
a great quantity of mastic, and much more could be raised, because the
trees may be planted, and will yield abundantly. The leaf and fruit are
like the mastic, but the tree and leaf are larger. As Pliny describes it,
I have seen it on the island of Chios in the Archipelago. I ordered many
of these trees to be tapped, to see if any of them would yield resin;
but, as it rained all the time I was in that river, I could not get any,
except a very little, which I am bringing to your Highnesses. It may not
be the right season for tapping, which is, I believe, when the trees come
forth after winter and begin to flower. But when I was there the fruit
was nearly ripe. Here also there is a great[145] quantity of cotton, and I
believe it would have a good sale here without sending it to Spain, but
to the great cities of the Gran Can,145-1 which will be discovered
without doubt, and many others ruled over by other lords, who will be
pleased to serve our Highnesses, and whither will be brought other
commodities of Spain and of the Eastern lands; but these are to the west
as regards us. There is also here a great yield of aloes,145-2 though
this is not a commodity that will yield great profit. The mastic,
however, is important, for it is only obtained from the said island of
Chios, and I believe the harvest is worth 50,000 ducats, if I remember
right.145-3 There is here, in the mouth of the river, the best port I
have seen up to this time, wide, deep, and clear of rocks. It is an
excellent site for a town and fort, for any ship could come close up to
the walls; the land is high, with a temperate climate, and very good
water.

“Yesterday a canoe came alongside the ship, with six youths in it. Five
came on board, and I ordered them to be detained. They are now here. I
afterwards sent to a house on the western side of the river, and seized
seven women, old and young, and three children. I did this because the
men would behave better in Spain if they had women of their own land,
than without them. For on many occasions the men of Guinea have been
brought to learn the language in Portugal, and afterwards, when they
returned, and it was expected that[146] they would be useful in their land,
owing to the good company they had enjoyed and the gifts they had
received, they never appeared after arriving. Others may not act thus.
But having women, they have the wish to perform what they are required to
do; besides, the women would teach our people their language, which is
the same in all these islands, so that those who make voyages in their
canoes are understood everywhere. On the other hand, there are a thousand
different languages in Guinea, and one native does not understand
another.

“The same night the husband of one of the women came alongside in a
canoe, who was father of the three children—one boy and two girls. He
asked me to let him come with them, and besought me much. They are now
all consoled at being with one who is a relation of them all. He is a man
of about 45 years of age.” All these are the words of the Admiral. He
also says that he had felt some cold, and that it would not be wise to
continue discoveries in a northerly direction in the winter. On this
Monday, until sunset, he steered a course E. b. S., making 18 leagues,
and reaching a cape, to which he gave the name of Cabo de Cuba.

Tuesday, 13th of November

This night the ships were on a bowline, as the sailors say, beating to
windward without making any progress. At sunset they began to see an
opening in the mountains, where two very high peaks146-1 were visible.
It appeared that here was the division between the land of Cuba and that
of Bohio, and this was affirmed by signs, by the Indians who were on
board. As soon as the day had dawned, the Admiral made sail toward the
land, passing a point which appeared at night to be distant two leagues.
He then entered a large gulf, 5 leagues to the S.S.E., and there remained
5 more, to arrive at the point where, between two great mountains, there
appeared to be an opening; but it could not be made out whether it was an
inlet of the sea. As he desired to go to the island called Babeque,[147]
where according to the information he had received, there was much gold;
and as it bore east, and as no large town was in sight the wind
freshening more than ever, he resolved to put out to sea, and work to the
east with a northerly wind. The ship made 8 miles an hour, and from ten
in the forenoon, when that course was taken, until sunset, 56 miles,
which is 14 leagues to the eastward from the Cabo de Cuba. The other land
of Bohio was left to leeward. Commencing from the cape of the said gulf,
he discovered, according to his reckoning, 80 miles, equal to 20 leagues,
all that coast running E.S.E. and W.N.W.

Wednesday, 14th of November

All last night the Admiral was beating to windward (he said that it would
be unreasonable to navigate among those islands during the night, until
they had been explored), for the Indians said yesterday that it would
take three days to go from Rio de Mares to the island of Babeque, by
which should be understood days’ journeys in their canoes equal to about
7 leagues. The wind fell, and, the course being east, she could not lay
her course nearer than S.E., and, owing to other mischances, he was
detained until the morning. At sunrise he determined to go in search of a
port, because the wind had shifted from north to N.E., and, if a port
could not be found, it would be necessary to go back to the ports in the
island of Cuba, whence they came. The Admiral approached the shore,
having gone over 28 miles E.S.E. that night. He steered south … miles
to the land, where he saw many islets and openings. As the wind was high
and the sea rough, he did not dare to risk an attempt to enter, but ran
along the coast W.N.W., looking out for a port, and saw many, but none
very clear of rocks. After having proceeded for 64 miles, he found a very
deep opening, a quarter of a mile wide, with a good port and river. He
ran in with her head S.S.W., afterwards south to S.E. The port147-1 was
spacious and very deep, and he saw so many islands that he could not
count them[148] all, with very high land covered with trees of many kinds,
and an infinite number of palms. He was much astonished to see so many
lofty islands; and assured the Sovereigns that the mountains and isles he
had seen since yesterday seemed to him to be second to none in the world;
so high and clear of clouds and snow, with the sea at their bases so
deep. He believes that these islands are those innumerable ones that are
depicted on the maps of the world in the Far East.148-1 He believed
that they yielded very great riches in precious stones and spices and
that they extend much further to the south, widening out in all
directions. He gave the name of La Mar de Nuestra Señora, and to the
haven, which is near the mouth of the entrance to these islands, Puerto
del Principe. He did not enter it, but examined it from outside, until
another time, on Saturday of the next week, as will there appear. He
speaks highly of the fertility, beauty, and height of the islands which
he found in this gulf, and he tells the Sovereigns not to wonder at his
praise of them, for that he has not told them the hundredth part. Some of
them seemed to reach to heaven, running up into peaks like diamonds.
Others rising to a great height have a flat top like a table. At their
bases the sea is of a great depth, with enough water for a very large
carrack. All are covered with foliage and without rocks.

Thursday, 15th of November

The Admiral went to examine these islands in the ships’ boats, and speaks
marvels of them, how he found mastic, and aloes without end. Some of them
were cultivated with the roots of which the Indians make bread; and he
found that fires had been lighted in several places. He saw no fresh
water. There were some natives, but they fled. In all parts of the sea
where the vessels were navigated he found a depth of 15 or 16 fathoms,
and all basa, by which he means that the ground[149] is sand and not rocks;
a thing much desired by sailors, for the rocks cut their anchor cables.

Friday, 16th of November

As in all parts, whether islands or mainlands, that he visited, the
Admiral always left a cross; so, on this occasion, he went in a boat to
the entrance of these havens, and found two very large trees on a point
of land, one longer than the other. One being placed over the other, made
a cross, and he said that a carpenter could not have made it better. He
ordered a very large and high cross to be made out of these timbers. He
found canes on the beach, and did not know where they had grown, but
thought they must have been brought down by some river, and washed up on
the beach (in which opinion he had reason). He went to a creek on the
south-east side of the entrance to the port. Here, under a height of rock
and stone like a cape, there was depth enough for the largest carrack in
the world close in shore, and there was a corner where six ships might
lie without anchors as in a room. It seemed to the Admiral that a
fortress might be built here at small cost, if at any time any famous
trade should arise in that sea of islands.

Returning to the ship, he found that the Indians who were on board had
fished up very large shells found in those seas. He made the people
examine them, to see if there was mother-o’-pearl, which is in the shells
where pearls grow. They found a great deal, but no pearls, and their
absence was attributed to its not being the season, which is May and
June. The sailors found an animal which seemed to be a taso, or
taxo.149-1 They also fished with nets, and, among many others, caught
a fish which was exactly like a pig, not like a tunny, but all covered
with a very hard shell, without a soft place except the tail and the
eyes, and a hole underneath to discharge its superfluities. It was
ordered to be salted, to bring home for the Sovereigns to see.149-2[150]

Saturday, 17th of November

The Admiral got into the boat, and went to visit the islands he had not
yet seen to the S.W. He saw many more very fertile and pleasant islands,
with a great depth between them. Some of them had springs of fresh water,
and he believed that the water of those streams came from some sources at
the summits of the mountains. He went on, and found a beach bordering on
very sweet water, which was very cold. There was a beautiful meadow, and
many very tall palms. They found a large nut of the kind belonging to
India, great rats,150-1 and enormous crabs. He saw many birds, and
there was a strong smell of musk, which made him think it must be there.
This day the two eldest of the six youths brought from the Rio de Mares,
who were on board the caravel Niña, made their escape.

Sunday, 18th of November

The Admiral again went away with the boats, accompanied by many of the
sailors, to set up the cross which he had ordered to be made out of the
two large trees at the entrance to the Puerto del Principe, on a fair
site cleared of trees, whence there was an extensive and very beautiful
view. He says that there is a greater rise and fall of the sea there than
in any other port he has seen, and that this is no marvel, considering
the numerous islands. The tide is the reverse of ours, because here, when
the moon is S.S.W., it is low water in the port. He did not get under
way, because it was Sunday.

Monday, 19th of November

The Admiral got under way before sunrise, in a calm. In the afternoon
there was some wind from the east, and he shaped a N.N.E. course. At
sunset the Puerto del Principe bore S.S.W. 7 leagues. He saw the island
of Babeque bearing due east about 60 miles. He steered N.E. all that
night,[151] making 60 miles, and up to ten o’clock of Tuesday another dozen;
altogether 18 leagues N.E. b. W.

Tuesday, 20th of November

They left Babeque, or the islands of Babeque, to the E.S.E., the wind
being contrary; and, seeing that no progress was being made, and the sea
was getting rough, the Admiral determined to return to the Puerto del
Principe, whence he had started, which was 25 leagues distant. He did not
wish to go to the island he had called Isabella, which was twelve leagues
off, and where he might have anchored that night, for two reasons: one
was that he had seen two islands to the south which he wished to explore;
the other, because the Indians he brought with him, whom he had taken at
the island of Guanahani, which he named San Salvador, eight leagues from
Isabella, might get away, and he said that he wanted them to take to
Spain. They thought that, when the Admiral had found gold, he would let
them return to their homes. He came near the Puerto del Principe, but
could not reach it, because it was night, and because the current drifted
them to the N.W. He turned her head to N.E. with a light wind. At three
o’clock in the morning the wind changed, and a course was shaped E.N.E.,
the wind being S.S.W., and changing at dawn to south and S.E. At sunset
Puerto del Principe bore nearly S.W. by W. 48 miles, which are 12
leagues.

Wednesday, 21st of November

At sunrise the Admiral steered east, with a southerly wind, but made
little progress, owing to a contrary sea. At vespers he had gone 24
miles. Afterwards the wind changed to east and he steered S. b. E., at
sunset having gone 12 miles. Here he found himself forty-two degrees
north of the equinoctial line, as in the port of Mares, but he says that
he kept the result from the quadrant in suspense until he reached the
shore, that it might be adjusted (as it would seem that he thought this
distance was too great, and he had reason, it not being[152] possible, as
these islands are only in … degrees).152-1 To believe the quadrant
was right he was led by seeing the north star as high as in Castile …
Reinforcing this was the great heat which he says he found there…. From
this heat which the Admiral says he endured there he argued that in these
Indies and where he was going there must be much gold.152-2

This day Martin Alonso Pinzon parted company with the caravel Pinta, in
disobedience to and against the wish of the Admiral, and out of avarice,
thinking that an Indian who had been put on board his caravel could show
him where there was much gold. So he parted company, not owing to bad
weather, but because he chose. Here the Admiral says: “He had done and
said many other things to me.”

Thursday, 22nd of November

On Wednesday night the Admiral steered S.S.E., with the wind east, but it
was nearly calm. At 3 it began to blow from N.N.E.; and he continued to
steer south to see the land he had seen in that quarter. When the sun
rose he was as far off as the day before, owing to adverse currents, the
land being 40 miles off. This night Martin Alonso shaped a course to the
east, to go to the island of Babeque, where the Indians say there is much
gold. He did this in sight of the Admiral, from whom he was distant 16
miles. The Admiral stood towards the land all night. He shortened sail,
and showed a lantern, because Pinzon would thus have an opportunity of
joining him, the night being very clear, and the wind fair to come, if he
had wished to do so.[153]

Friday, 23rd of November

The Admiral stood towards the land all day, always steering south with
little wind, but the current would never let them reach it, being as far
off at sunset as in the morning. The wind was E.N.E., and they could
shape a southerly course, but there was little of it. Beyond this cape
there stretched out another land or cape, also trending east, which the
Indians on board called Bohio. They said that it was very large, and that
there were people in it who had one eye in their foreheads, and others
who were cannibals, and of whom they were much afraid.153-1 When they
saw that this course was taken, they said that they could not talk to
these people because they would be eaten, and that they were very well
armed. The Admiral says that he well believes that there were such
people, and that if they are armed they must have some ability. He
thought that they may have captured some of the Indians, and because they
did not return to their homes, the others believed that they had been
eaten. They thought the same of the Christians and of the Admiral when
some of them first saw the strangers.

Saturday, 24th of November

They navigated all night, and at 3153-2 they reached the level
island153-3 at the very same point they had come to the week before,
when they started for the island of Babeque. At first the Admiral did not
dare to approach the shore, because it seemed that there would be a great
surf in that mountain-girded bay. Finally he reached the sea of Nuestra
Señora, where there are many islands, and entered a port near the mouth
of the opening to the islands. He says that if he had known of this port
before he need not have occupied himself in exploring the islands, and it
would not have been necessary to go back. He, however, considered that
the time was well spent in examin[154]ing the islands. On nearing the land he
sent in the boat to sound, finding a good sandy bottom in 6 to 20
fathoms. He entered the haven, pointing the ship’s head S.W. and then
west, the flat island bearing north. This, with another island near it,
forms a harbor which would hold all the ships of Spain safe from all
winds. This entrance on the S.W. side is passed by steering S.S.W., the
outlet being to the west very deep and wide. Thus a vessel can pass
amidst these islands, and he who approaches from the north, with a
knowledge of them can pass along the coast. These islands are at the foot
of a great mountain-chain running east and west, which is longer and
higher than any others on this coast, where there are many. A reef of
rocks outside runs parallel with the said mountains, like a bench,
extending to the entrance. On the side of the flat island, and also to
the S.E., there is another small reef, but between them there is great
width and depth. Within the port, near the S.E. side of the entrance,
they saw a large and very fine river,154-1 with more volume than any
they had yet met with, and fresh water could be taken from it as far as
the sea. At the entrance there is a bar, but within it is very deep, 19
fathoms. The banks are lined with palms and many other trees.

Sunday, 25th of November

Before sunrise the Admiral got into the boat, and went to see a cape or
point of land154-2 to the S.E. of the flat island, about a league and a
half distant, because there appeared to be a good river there. Presently,
near to the S.E. side of the cape, at a distance of two cross-bow shots,
he saw a large stream of beautiful water falling from the
mountains154-3 above, with a loud noise. He went to it, and saw some
stones shining in its bed like gold.154-4[155] He remembered that in the
river Tagus, near its junction with the sea, there was gold; so it seemed
to him that this should contain gold, and he ordered some of these stones
to be collected, to be brought to the Sovereigns. Just then the sailor
boys called out that they had found large pines. The Admiral looked up
the hill, and saw that they were so wonderfully large that he could not
exaggerate their height and straightness, like stout yet fine spindles.
He perceived that here there was material for great store of planks and
masts for the largest ships in Spain. He saw oaks and arbutus
trees,155-1 with a good river, and the means of making
water-power.155-2 The climate was temperate, owing to the height of the
mountains. On the beach he saw many other stones of the color of iron,
and others that some said were like silver ore, all brought down by the
river. Here he obtained a new mast and yard for the mizzen of the caravel
Niña. He came to the mouth of the river, and entered a creek which was
deep and wide, at the foot of that S.E. part of the cape, which would
accommodate a hundred ships without any anchor or hawsers. Eyes never
beheld a better harbor. The mountains are very high, whence descend many
limpid streams, and all the hills are covered with pines, and an infinity
of diverse and beautiful trees. Two or three other rivers were not
visited.

The Admiral described all this, in much detail, to the Sovereigns, and
declared that he had derived unspeakable joy and pleasure at seeing it,
more especially the pines, because they enable as many ships as is
desired to be built here, bringing out the rigging, but finding here
abundant supplies of wood and provisions. He affirms that he has not
enumerated a hundredth part of what there is here, and that it pleased
our Lord always to show him one thing better than another, as well on the
ground and among the trees, herbs, fruits, and flowers, as in the people,
and always something different in each place. It had been the same as
regards the havens and[156] the waters. Finally, he says that if it caused
him who saw it so much wonder, how much more will it affect those who
hear about it; yet no one can believe until he sees it.

Monday, 26th of November

At sunrise the Admiral weighed the anchors in the haven of Santa
Catalina, where he was behind the flat island, and steered along the
coast in the direction of Cabo del Pico, which was S.E. He reached the
cape late, because the wind failed and then saw another cape, S.E. b. E.
60 miles, which, when 20 miles off, was named Cabo de Campana, but it
could not be reached that day. They made good 32 miles during the day,
which is 8 leagues. During this time the Admiral noted nine remarkable
ports,156-1 which all the sailors thought wonderfully good, and five
large rivers; for they sailed close along the land, so as to see
everything. All along the coast there are very high and beautiful
mountains, not arid or rocky, but all accessible, and very lovely. The
valleys, like the mountains, were full of tall and fine trees, so that it
was a glory to look upon them, and there seemed to be many pines. Also,
beyond the said Cabo de Pico to the S.E. there are two islets, each about
two leagues round, and inside them three excellent havens and two large
rivers. Along the whole coast no inhabited places were visible from the
sea. There may have been some, and there were indications of them, for,
when the men landed, they found signs of people and numerous remains of
fires. The Admiral conjectured that the land he saw to-day S.E. of the
Cabo de Campana was the island called by the Indians Bohio:156-2 it
looked as if this cape was separated from the mainland. The Admiral says
that all the people he has hitherto met with have very great fear of
those of Caniba or Canima. They affirm that they live in the island of
Bohio, which must be very large, according to all accounts. The Admiral
understood that those of Caniba come to take people from their homes,
they being[157] very cowardly, and without knowledge of arms. For this use it
appears that these Indians do not settle on the sea-coast owing to being
near the land of Caniba. When the natives who were on board saw a course
shaped for that land, they feared to speak, thinking they were going to
be eaten; nor could they rid themselves of their fear. They declared that
the Canibas157-1 had only one eye and dogs’ faces. The Admiral thought
they lied, and was inclined to believe that it was people from the
dominions of the Gran Can who took them into captivity.

Tuesday, 27th of November

Yesterday, at sunset, they arrived near a cape named Campana by the
Admiral; and, as the sky was clear and the wind light, he did not wish to
run in close to the land and anchor, although he had five or six
singularly good havens under his lee. The Admiral was attracted on the
one hand by the longing and delight he felt to gaze upon the beauty and
freshness of those lands, and on the other by a desire to complete the
work he had undertaken. For these reasons he remained close hauled, and
stood off and on during the night. But, as the currents had set him more
than 5 or 6 leagues to the S.E. beyond where he had been at nightfall,
passing the land of Campana, he came in sight of a great opening beyond
that cape, which seemed to divide one land from another, leaving an
island between them. He decided to go back, with the wind S.E., steering
to the point where the opening had appeared, where he found that it was
only a large bay,157-2 and at the end of it, on the S.E. side, there
was a point of land on which was a high and square-cut hill,157-3 which
had looked like an island. A breeze sprang up from the north, and the
Admiral continued on a S.E. course, to explore the coast and discover all
that was there. Presently he saw, at the[158] foot of the Cabo de Campana, a
wonderfully good port158-1, and a large river, and, a quarter of a
league on, another river, and a third, and a fourth to a seventh at
similar distances, from the furthest one to Cabo de Campana being 20
miles S.E. Most of these rivers have wide and deep mouths, with excellent
havens for large ships, without sandbanks or sunken rocks. Proceeding
onwards from the last of these rivers, on a S.E. course, they came to the
largest inhabited place they had yet seen, and a vast concourse of people
came down to the beach with loud shouts, all naked, with their darts in
their hands. The Admiral desired to have speech with them, so he furled
sails and anchored. The boats of the ship and the caravel were sent on
shore, with orders to do no harm whatever to the Indians, but to give
them presents. The Indians made as if they would resist the landing, but,
seeing that the boats of the Spaniards continued to advance without fear,
they retired from the beach. Thinking that they would not be terrified if
only two or three landed, three Christians were put on shore, who told
them not to be afraid, in their own language, for they had been able to
learn a little from the natives who were on board. But all ran away,
neither great nor small remaining. The Christians went to the houses,
which were of straw, and built like the others they had seen, but found
no one in any of them. They returned to the ships, and made sail at noon
in the direction of a fine cape158-2 to the eastward, about 8 leagues
distant. Having gone about half a league, the Admiral saw, on the south
side of the same bay, a very remarkable harbor158-3, and to the S.E.
some wonderfully beautiful country like a valley among the mountains,
whence much smoke arose, indicating a large population, with signs of
much cultivation. So he resolved to stop at this port, and see if he
could have any speech or intercourse with the inhabitants. It was so
that, if the Admiral had praised the other havens, he must praise this
still more for its lands, climate, and people. He[159] tells marvels of the
beauty of the country and of the trees, there being palms and pine trees;
and also of the great valley which is not flat, but diversified by hill
and dale, the most lovely scene in the world. Many streams flow from it,
which fall from the mountains.

As soon as the ship was at anchor the Admiral jumped into the boat, to
get soundings in the port, which is the shape of a hammer. When he was
facing the entrance he found the mouth of a river on the south side of
sufficient width for a galley to enter it, but so concealed that it is
not visible until close to. Entering it for the length of the boat, there
was a depth of from 5 to 8 fathoms. In passing up it the freshness and
beauty of the trees, the clearness of the water, and the birds, made it
all so delightful that he wished never to leave them. He said to the men
who were with him that to give a true relation to the Sovereigns of the
things they had seen, a thousand tongues would not suffice, nor his hand
to write it, for that it was like a scene of enchantment. He desired that
many other prudent and credible witnesses might see it, and he was sure
that they would be as unable to exaggerate the scene as he was.

The Admiral also says:—“How great the benefit that is to be derived from
this country would be, I cannot say. It is certain that where there are
such lands there must be an infinite number of things that would be
profitable. But I did not remain long in one port, because I wished to
see as much of the country as possible, in order to make a report upon it
to your Highnesses; and besides, I do not know the language, and these
people neither understand me nor any other in my company; while the
Indians I have on board often misunderstand. Moreover, I have not been
able to see much of the natives, because they often take to flight. But
now, if our Lord pleases, I will see as much as possible, and will
proceed by little and little, learning and comprehending; and I will make
some of my followers learn the language. For I have perceived that there
is only one language up to this point. After they understand the
advantages, I shall labor[160] to make all these people Christians. They will
become so readily, because they have no religion nor idolatry, and your
Highnesses will send orders to build a city and fortress, and to convert
the people. I assure your Highnesses that it does not appear to me that
there can be a more fertile country nor a better climate under the sun,
with abundant supplies of water. This is not like the rivers of Guinea,
which are all pestilential. I thank our Lord that, up to this time, there
has not been a person of my company who has had so much as a headache, or
been in bed from illness, except an old man who has suffered from the
stone all his life, and he was well again in two days. I speak of all
three vessels. If it will please God that your Highnesses should send
learned men out here, they will see the truth of all I have said. I have
related already how good a place Rio de Mares would be for a town and
fortress, and this is perfectly true; but it bears no comparison with
this place, nor with the Mar de Nuestra Señora. For here there must be a
large population, and very valuable productions, which I hope to discover
before I return to Castile. I say that if Christendom will find profit
among these people, how much more will Spain, to whom the whole country
should be subject. Your Highnesses ought not to consent that any stranger
should trade here, or put his foot in the country, except Catholic
Christians, for this was the beginning and end of the undertaking;
namely, the increase and glory of the Christian religion, and that no one
should come to these parts who was not a good Christian.”160-1

All the above are the Admiral’s words. He ascended the river for some
distance, examined some branches of it, and, returning to the mouth, he
found some pleasant groves of trees, like a delightful orchard. Here he
came upon a boat or[161] canoa, dug out of one tree as big as a
fusta161-1 of twelve benches, fastened under a boat-house or bower
made of wood, and thatched with palm-leaves, so that it could be neither
injured by sun nor by the water. He says that here would be the proper
site for a town and fort, by reason of the good port, good water, good
land, and abundance of fuel.

Wednesday, 28th of November

The Admiral remained during this day, in consequence of the rain and
thick weather, though he might have run along the coast, the wind being
S.W., but he did not weigh, because he was unacquainted with the coast
beyond, and did not know what danger there might be for the vessels. The
sailors of the two vessels went on shore to wash their clothes, and some
of them walked inland for a short distance. They found indications of a
large population, but the houses were all empty, everyone having fled.
They returned by the banks of another river, larger than that which they
knew of, at the port.

Thursday, 29th of November

The rain and thick weather continuing, the Admiral did not get under way.
Some of the Christians went to another village to the N.W., but found no
one, and nothing in the houses. On the road they met an old man who could
not run away, and caught him. They told him they did not wish to do him
any harm, gave him a few presents, and let him go. The Admiral would have
liked to have had speech with him, for he was exceedingly satisfied with
the delights of that land, and wished that a settlement might be formed
there, judging that it must support a large population. In one house they
found a cake of wax,161-2 which was taken to the Sovereigns, the[162]
Admiral saying that where there was wax there were also a thousand other
good things. The sailors also found, in one house, the head of a man in a
basket, covered with another basket, and fastened to a post of the house.
They found the same things in another village. The Admiral believed that
they must be the heads of some founder, or principal ancestor of a
lineage, for the houses are built to contain a great number of people in
each; and these should be relations, and descendants of a common
ancestor.

Friday, 30th of November

They could not get under way to-day because the wind was east, and dead
against them. The Admiral sent 8 men well armed, accompanied by two of
the Indians he had on board, to examine the villages inland, and get
speech with the people. They came to many houses, but found no one and
nothing, all having fled. They saw four youths who were digging in their
fields, but, as soon as they saw the Christians, they ran away, and could
not be overtaken. They marched a long distance, and saw many villages and
a most fertile land, with much cultivation and many streams of water.
Near one river they saw a canoe dug out of a single tree, 95
palmos162-1 long, and capable of carrying 150 persons.

Saturday, 1st of December

They did not depart, because there was still a foul wind, with much rain.
The Admiral set up a cross at the entrance of this port, which he called
Puerto Santo,162-2 on some bare rocks. The point is that which is on
the S.E. side of the entrance; but he who has to enter should make more
over to the N.W.; for at the foot of both, near the rock, there are 12[163]
fathoms and a very clean bottom. At the entrance of the port, toward the
S.E. point, there is a reef of rocks above water,163-1 sufficiently far
from the shore to enable one to pass between if it is necessary, for both
on the side of the rock and the shore there is a depth of 12 to 15
fathoms; and, on entering, a ship’s head should be turned S.W.

Sunday, 2nd of December

The wind was still contrary, and they could not depart. Every night the
wind blows on the land, but no vessel need be alarmed at all the gales in
the world, for they cannot blow home by reason of a reef of rocks at the
opening to the haven, etc. A sailor-boy found, at the mouth of the river,
some stones which looked as if they contained gold; so they were taken to
be shown to the Sovereigns. The Admiral says that there are great rivers
at the distance of a lombard shot.163-2

Monday, 3rd of December

By reason of the continuance of an easterly wind the Admiral did not
leave this port. He arranged to visit a very beautiful headland a quarter
of a league to the S.E. of the anchorage. He went with the boats and some
armed men. At the foot of the cape there was the mouth of a fair river,
and on entering it they found the width to be a hundred paces, with a
depth of one fathom. Inside they found 12, 5, 4, and 2 fathoms, so that
it would hold all the ships there are in Spain. Leaving the river, they
came to a cove in which were five very[164] large canoes,164-1 so well
constructed that it was a pleasure to look at them. They were under
spreading trees, and a path led from them to a very well-built
boat-house, so thatched that neither sun nor rain could do any harm.
Within it there was another canoe made out of a single tree like the
others, like a fusta with 17 benches. It was a pleasant sight to look
upon such goodly work. The Admiral ascended a mountain, and afterwards
found the country level, and cultivated with many things of that land,
including such calabashes, as it was a glory to look upon them.164-2 In
the middle there was a large village, and they came upon the people
suddenly; but, as soon as they were seen, men and women took to flight.
The Indian from on board, who was with the Admiral, cried out to them
that they need not be afraid, as the strangers were good people. The
Admiral made him give them bells, copper ornaments, and glass beads,
green and yellow, with which they were well content. He saw that they had
no gold nor any other precious thing, and that it would suffice to leave
them in peace. The whole district was well peopled, the rest having fled
from fear. The Admiral assures the Sovereigns that ten thousand of these
men would run from ten, so cowardly and timid are they. No arms are
carried by them, except wands,164-3 on the point of which a short piece
of wood is fixed, hardened by fire, and these they are very ready to
exchange. Returning to where he had left the boats, he sent back some men
up the hill, because he fancied he had seen a large apiary. Before those
he had sent[165] could return, they were joined by many Indians, and they
went to the boats, where the Admiral was waiting with all his people. One
of the natives advanced into the river near the stern of the boat, and
made a long speech, which the Admiral did not understand. At intervals
the other Indians raised their hands to Heaven, and shouted. The Admiral
thought he was assuring him that he was pleased at his arrival; but he
saw the Indian who came from the ship change the color of his face, and
turn as yellow as wax, trembling much, and letting the Admiral know by
signs that he should leave the river, as they were going to kill him. He
pointed to a cross-bow which one of the Spaniards had, and showed it to
the Indians, and the Admiral let it be understood that they would all be
slain, because that cross-bow carried far and killed people. He also took
a sword and drew it out of the sheath, showing it to them, and saying the
same, which, when they had heard, they all took to flight; while the
Indian from the ship still trembled from cowardice, though he was a tall,
strong man. The Admiral did not want to leave the river, but pulled
towards the place where the natives had assembled in great numbers, all
painted, and as naked as when their mothers bore them. Some had tufts of
feathers on their heads, and all had their bundles of darts.

The Admiral says: “I came to them, and gave them some mouthfuls of bread,
asking for the darts, for which I gave in exchange copper ornaments,
bells, and glass beads. This made them peaceable, so that they came to
the boats again, and gave us what they had. The sailors had killed a
turtle, and the shell was in the boat in pieces. The sailor-boys gave
them some in exchange for a bundle of darts. These are like the other
people we have seen, and with the same belief that we came from Heaven.
They are ready to give whatever thing they have in exchange for any
trifle without saying it is little; and I believe they would do the same
with gold and spices if they had any. I saw a fine house, not very large,
and with two doors, as all the rest have. On entering, I saw a marvellous
work, there being rooms made in a peculiar way,[166] that I scarcely know how
to describe it. Shells and other things were fastened to the ceiling. I
thought it was a temple, and I called them and asked, by signs, whether
prayers were offered up there. They said that they were not, and one of
them climbed up and offered me all the things that were there, of which I
took some.”

Tuesday, 4th of December

The Admiral made sail with little wind, and left that port, which he
called Puerto Santo. After going two leagues, he saw the great
river166-1 of which he spoke yesterday. Passing along the land, and
beating to windward on S.E. and W.N.W. courses, they reached Cabo
Lindo,166-2 which is E.S.E. 5 leagues from Cabo del Monte. A league and
a half from Cabo del Monte there is an important but rather narrow river,
which seemed to have a good entrance, and to be deep. Three-quarters of a
league further on, the Admiral saw another very large river, and he
thought it must have its source at a great distance. It had a hundred
paces at its mouth, and no bar, with a depth of 8 fathoms. The Admiral
sent the boat in, to take soundings, and they found the water fresh until
it enters the sea.

This river had great volume, and must have a large population on its
banks. Beyond Cabo Lindo there is a great bay, which would be open for
navigation to E.N.E. and S.E. and S.S.W.

Wednesday, 5th of December

All this night they were beating to windward off Cape Lindo, to reach the
land to the east, and at sunrise the Admiral sighted another cape,166-3
two and a half leagues to the east. Having passed it, he saw that the
land trended S. and S.W.,[167] and presently saw a fine high cape in that
direction, 7 leagues distant.167-1 He would have wished to go there,
but his object was to reach the island of Babeque, which, according to
the Indians, bore N.E.; so he gave up the intention. He could not go to
Babeque either, because the wind was N.E. Looking to the S.E., he saw
land, which was a very large island, according to the information of the
Indians, well peopled, and called by them Bohio.167-2 The Admiral says
that the inhabitants of Cuba, or Juana,167-3 and of all the other
islands, are much afraid of the inhabitants of Bohio, because they say
that they eat people. The Indians relate other things, by signs, which
are very wonderful; but the Admiral did not believe them. He only
inferred that those of Bohio must have more cleverness and cunning to be
able to capture the others, who, however, are very poor-spirited. The
wind veered from N.E. to North, so the Admiral determined to leave Cuba,
or Juana, which, up to this time, he had supposed to be the mainland, on
account of its size, having coasted along it for 120 leagues.167-4 He
shaped a course S.E. b. E., the land he had sighted bearing S.E.; taking
this precaution because the wind always veered from N. to N.E. again, and
thence to east and S.E. The wind increased, and he made all sail, the
current helping them; so that they were making 8 miles an hour from the
morning until one in the afternoon (which is barely 6 hours, for they say
that the nights were nearly 15 hours). Afterwards they went 10 miles an
hour, making good 88 miles by sunset, equal to 22 leagues, all to the
S.E. As night was coming on, the[168] Admiral ordered the caravel Niña,
being a good sailer, to proceed ahead, so as to sight a harbor at
daylight. Arriving at the entrance of a port which was like the Bay of
Cadiz, while it was still dark, a boat was sent in to take soundings,
which showed a light from a lantern. Before the Admiral could beat up to
where the caravel was, hoping that the boat would show a leading-mark for
entering the port, the candle in the lantern went out. The caravel, not
seeing the light, showed a light to the Admiral, and, running down to
him, related what had happened. The boat’s crew then showed another
light, and the caravel made for it; but the Admiral could not do so, and
was standing off and on all night.

Thursday, 6th of December

When daylight arrived the Admiral found himself four leagues from the
port, to which he gave the name of Puerto Maria,168-1 and to a fine
cape bearing S.S.W. he gave the name of Cabo de la Estrella.168-2 It
seemed to be the furthest point of the island towards the south, distant
28 miles. Another point of land, like an island, appeared about 40 miles
to the east. To another fine point, 54 miles to the east, he gave the
name of Cabo del Elefante,168-3 and he called another, 28 miles to the
S.E., Cabo de Cinquin. There was a great opening or bay, which might be
the mouth of a river,168-4 distant 20 miles. It seemed that between
Cabo del Elefante and that of Cinquin there was a great opening,168-5
and some of the sailors said that it formed an island, to which the name
of Isla de la Tortuga168-6 was given. The island appeared to be very
high land, not closed in with mountains, but with beautiful valleys, well
cultivated, the crops appearing like the wheat on the plain of Cordova in
May.[169] That night they saw many fires, and much smoke, as if from
workshops,169-1 in the day time; it appeared to be a signal made by
people who were at war. All the coast of this land trends to the east.