WE sailed for two days east by south. But the
weather that had been perfection for long and long
again from Palos, now was changed. Dead winds
delayed us, the sea ridged, clouds blotted out the
blue. We held on. There was a great cape
which we called Cape Cuba. Off this a storm met
us. We lived it out and made into one of those
bottle harbors of which, first and last, we were to
find God knows how many in Cuba!
The Admiral named it Puerto del Principe, and we raised
on shore here a very great cross. We had done
this on every considerable island since San Salvador
and now twice on this coast. There were behind
us seven or eight crosses. The banner planted
was the sign of the Sovereignty of Spain, the cross
the sign of Holy Church, Sovereign over sovereigns,
who gave these lands to Spain, as she gave Africa
and the islands to Portugal. We came to a great
number of islets, rivers of clear blue sea between.
The ships lay to and we took boat and went among these.
The King’s Gardens, the Admiral called them,
and the calm sea between them and mainland the Sea
of Our Lady. They were thickly wooded, and we
thought we found cinnamon, aloes and mastic.
Two lovely days we had in this wilderness of isles
and channels where was no man nor woman at all, then
again we went east and south, the land trending that
way. Very distant, out of eastern waste, rose
what seemed a large island. The Admiral said
that we should go discover, and we changed course
toward it, but in three hours’ time met furious
weather. The sea rose, clouds like night closed
us in. Night came on without a star and a contrary
wind blew always. When the dawn broke sullenly
we were beaten back to Cuba, and a great promontory
against which truly we might have been dashed stood
to our north and shut out coast of yesterday.
Here we hung a day and night, and then the wind lulling
and the sea running not so high, we made again for
that island which might be Babeque. We had Indians
aboard, but the sea and the whipping and groaning
of our masts and rigging and sails and the pitching
of the ship terrified them, and terror made them dull.
They sat with knees drawn up and head buried in arms
and shivered, and knew not Babeque from anything else.
Christopherus Columbus could be very obstinate.
Wishing strongly to gain that island, through all
this day he had us strive toward it. But the
wind was directly ahead and strong as ten giants.
The master and others made representations, and at
last he nodded his gray head and ordered the Santa
Maria put about and the Pinta and the Nina signaled.
The Nina harkened and turned, but the Pinta. at some
distance seemed deaf and blind. Night fell while
still we signaled. We were now for Cuba, and the
wind directly behind us, but yet as long as we could
see, the Pinta chose not to turn. We set lights
for signals, but her light fell farther and farther
astern. She was a swifter sailer than we; there
was no reason for that increasing distance. We
lay to, the Nina beside us. Ere long we
wholly lost the Pinta’s light. Night passed.
When morning broke Captain Martin Alonso Pinzon and
the Pinta were gone.
