better, nobler, more profitable even than kidnapping the poor natives. Despatching a messenger to Velazquez, Córdoba asked, in case new discoveries were made while on the way to catch Indians, for permission to act as the governor’s lieutenant in such lands. The desired authority was granted, and from the haciendas near by were brought on board sheep, pigs, and mares, so that stock-raising might begin if settlements were formed.
Sailing from the Habana, or San Cristóbal, the 8th of February, 1517, they came to Cape San Antonio, whence, on the 12th, they struck westward, and after certain days,4 during two of which they were severely tempest-tossed, they discovered land;5 first the point of an island, where were some fine salt-fields, and cultivated ground. The people who appeared on the shore were not naked as on the Islands, but well dressed in white and colored cotton, some with ornaments of gold, silver, and feathers. The men were bold and brave, and the women well-formed and modest, with head and breast covered. Most wonderful of all, however, were some great towers, built of stone and lime, with steps leading to the