Upon entering this harbour he found a number of houses scattered along the banks, but when he landed it was discovered to be a group of eight houses; about fifty men, led by their chief, promptly came from a populous village only three miles distant.  These men, who were naked, invited Alonzo Nunez to land on their coast, and he consented.  He distributed some needles, bracelets, rings, glass pearls, and other pedlar’s trifles amongst them, and in less than an hour he obtained from them in exchange fifteen ounces of the pearls they wore on their necks and arms.  The natives embraced Nunez affectionately, insisting more and more that he should come to their village, where they promised to give him any amount of pearls he might desire.  The next day at dawn the ship drew near to the village and anchored.  The entire population assembled and begged the men to land, but Nunez, seeing that they were very numerous and considering that he had only thirty men, did not venture to trust himself to them.  He made them understand by signs and gestures that they should come to the ship in barques and canoes.  These barques, like the others, are dug out of a single tree-trunk, but are less well shaped and less easy to handle than those used by the cannibals and the natives of Hispaniola.  They are called gallitas.  The natives all brought strings of pearls, which are called tenoras, and showed themselves desirous of Spanish merchandise.

They are amiable men; simple, innocent, and hospitable, as was made clear after twenty days of intercourse with them.  The Spaniards very soon ceased to fear to enter their houses, which are built of wood covered with palm leaves.  Their principal food is the meat of the shellfish from which they extract pearls, and their shores abound with such.  They likewise eat the flesh of wild animals, for deer, wild-boar, rabbits whose hair and colour resemble our hares, doves, and turtle-doves exist in their country.  The women keep ducks and geese about the houses, just as ours do; peacocks fly about in the woods, but their colours are not so rich or so varied as ours and the male bird differs little from the female.  Amongst the undergrowth in the swamps, pheasants are from time to time seen.  The people of Curiana are skilful hunters and generally with one single arrow shot they kill beasts or birds at which they aim.  The Spaniards spent several days amongst the abundance of the country.  They traded four needles for a peacock, only two for a pheasant, and one for a dove or a turtle-dove.  The same, or a glass bead, was given for a goose.  In making their offers and bargaining and disputing, the natives conducted their commercial affairs just about the same as do our women when they are arguing with pedlars.  As they wore no clothes, the natives were puzzled to know the use of needles, but when the Spaniards satisfied their naive curiosity by showing them that needles were useful for getting thorns from beneath the skin, and for cleaning the teeth, they conceived a great opinion of them.  Another thing which pleased them even more was the colour and sound of hawk-bells, which they were ready to buy at good prices.