Nearly half the trees of this island are dye-wood, as good as that of the East.  We went from this island to another in the vicinity, at ten leagues’ distance, and found a very large village, the houses of which were built over the sea, like Venice, with much ingenuity.  While we were struck with admiration at this circumstance, we determined to go and see them; and as we went to their houses, they attempted to prevent our entering.  They found out at last the manner in which the sword cuts, and thought it best to let us enter.  We found their houses filled with the finest cotton, and the beams of their dwellings were made of dye-wood.  We took a quantity of their cotton and some dye-wood and returned to the ships.

Your excellency must know that in all parts where we landed we found a great quantity of cotton, and the country filled with cotton-trees, so that all the vessels in the world might be loaded in these parts with cotton and dye-wood.

At length we sailed three hundred leagues farther along the coast, constantly finding savage but brave people, and very often fighting with them and vanquishing them.  We found seven different languages among them, each of which was not understood by those who spoke the others.  It is said there are not more than seventy-seven languages in the world, but I say there are more than a thousand, as there are more than forty which I have heard myself.

After having sailed along this coast seven hundred leagues or more, besides visiting numerous islands, our ships became greatly sea-worn and leaked badly, so that we could hardly keep them free with two pumps going.  The men also were much fatigued and the provisions growing short.  We were then, according to the decision of the pilots, within a hundred twenty leagues of an island called Hispaniola, discovered by the admiral Columbus six years before.  We determined to proceed to it, and, as it was inhabited by Christians, to repair our ships there, allow the men a little repose, and recruit our stock of provisions; because from this island to Castile there are three hundred leagues of ocean, without any land intervening.

In seven days we arrived at this island, where we stayed two months.  Here we refitted our ships and obtained our supply of provisions.  We afterward concluded to go to northern parts, where we discovered more than a thousand islands, the greater part of them being inhabited.  The people were without clothing, timid, and ignorant, and we did whatever we wished to do with them.  This last portion of our discoveries was very dangerous to our navigation, on account of the shoals which we found thereabout.  In several instances we came near being lost.  We sailed in this sea two hundred leagues directly north, until our people had become worn down with fatigue, through having been already nearly a year at sea.  Their allowance was only six ounces of bread for eating, and but three small measures of water for drinking, per diem.  And as the ships