At the point of the Trinitie they spend three dayes in fishing, and in other pastimes: after which setting sayle they discouer pleasant countries, and mountaines voide of grasse, and an Iland afterward called Isla de los Cedros, or the Ile of Cedars, neere which they suffer sharpe colde and raine, and to saue themselues they returne thither.
Immediatly we set saile to ioyne with the ship Santa Agueda, which was aboue halfe a league in the high sea from vs, and this was on the Wednesday the seuenteenth of December. Being come together because the windes were contrary, we drew neere to a headland, which wee called Punta de la Trinidad, and here wee stayed fishing, and solacing our selues two or three dayes, although we had alwayes great store of raine. Afterward we beganne to sayle very slowly, and at night we rode ouer against those mountaines where we had left our ankers, and vpon knowledge of the place we receiued great contentment seeing we had sailed some fiue and thirtie leagues from the place where we had taken in water: neither was it any maruell that wee so reioyced, because that the feare which we had of contrary windes caused vs to be so well appayd of the way which we had made. The day of the holy Natiuitie of our Lord, which was on the Thursday the fiue and twentieth of the said moneth, God of his mercy beganne to shew vs fauour in giuing vs a fresh winde almost in the poope, which carried vs beyond those mountaines, for the space of tenne or twelue leagues, finding the coast alwayes plaine: and
two leagues within the land, which we coasted along, and betweene these mountaines, there was a great space of plaine ground, which we might easily discerne with our eyes, although others were of another opinion. We beganne from Christmas day to saile slowly with certaine small land-windes, and sayled from morning to night and about seuen or eight leagues, which wee esteemed no small matter, alwayes praying to God to continue this his fauour toward vs, and thanking him for his holy Natiuitie, and all the dayes of this feast the Frier sayd masse in the Admirall, and the father Frier Raimund preached vnto vs, which gaue vs no small comfort, by incouraging vs in the seruice of God.
On Saturday at night being the 27. of the said moneth we ankored neere vnto a point which seemed to be plaine land all along the shore, and within the countrey were high mountaines with certaine woods, which woods and mountaines ranne ouerthwart the countrey, and continued along with certaine small hilles sharpe on the toppe, and certaine little vallies are betweene those mountaines. Great appearance of gold and siluer. And in truth, to me which with diligent eyes beheld the same both in length and in the breadth thereof, it could not chuse but be a good countrey, and to haue great matters in it, as well touching the inhabiting thereof by the Indians, as in golde and siluer; for there was great likelihood that there is store thereof. This night we saw a fire farre within the lande towards those mountaines, which made vs thinke that the countrey was throughly inhabited. The next day being Sunday and Innocents day, the 28 of the said moneth, at breake of day we set sayle, and by nine or ten of the clocke had sayled three or foure leagues, where we met with a point which stretched towarde the West, the pleasant situation whereof delighted vs much. From the eight and twentieth of December we ranne our course vntill Thursday being Newyeares day of the yeere 1540, and we ran some 40 leagues, passing by certaine inlets and bayes, and certaine high mountains couered with grasse in colour like rosemary: but toward the sea-side very bare and burned, and toward the top were certaine cragges somewhat of a red colour, and beyond these appeared certaine white mountaines, and so all the countrey shewed vnto a point which appeared beyond those burnt white and red mountaines which haue neither any grasse nor tree vpon them, whereat we maruelled not a little. This
Newyeares day we sawe neere the maine two small Ilands, and reioyced greatly to see them; for we stood in great feare, that contrary windes would driue vs as farre backe in one day, as we had sayled in tenne, which if they had taken vs, we could not haue withstood them. Wee ranne from the first of Ianuary untill Munday which were fiue dayes, and the land alwayes stretched Northwest from the mountaines aforesaid.
And on the Sunday we saw a farre off a-head of vs a high land somewhat seuered from the maine shore, and all of vs beganne to dispute whether it were the land which trended toward the Northwest, for that way the Pilots hoped to discouer a better countrey: and the said Munday the fift of Ianuarie we came to this high land beforesaid, and it was two Ilands the one a small one and the other a great one: we coasted these two Ilands some sixe leagues, which were greene, and had on the toppe of them many high slender trees; and the great Iland was twentie leagues in compasse. Isla de los Cedros mentioned in the [13 chap.] We coasted in 6 leagues in length without seeing or discouering any other things, but we saw before vs high land which stretched eight or tenne leagues Northward, where we rode on Munday at night. From Thursday being Newyeares day vntill the next Munday we sayled about 35 leagues. The land trendeth here Northwest 35 leagues. And in this course we felt great cold, which grieued vs much, especially being assailed by two or three windie showers, which pinched vs much with colde. We rode ouer against this land two or three nights, hauing it neere vnto vs, alwayes keeping watch by equall houres, one while mariners, and another souldiers, all the night long with great vigilancie. On Tuesday being Twelfe day we came within two or three leagues of this land, which we had descryed the day before, seeming to vs very pleasant for it shewed greene with greene trees of an ordinary bignesse, and we saw many vallies, out of which certaine small mists arose, which continued in them for a long time, whereupon we gathered that they rose out of certaine riuers. The same morning, to our great comfort we saw great smokes, though we were about foure leagues distant from them, and the Captaine made no great reckoning to approach neere vnto them, nor to seeke nor serch what the matter was, and perchance because he was not then in the Santa Agueda, but was aboord the Trinitie, as his maner was to come and stay there two or three dayes, as well to passe the time,
as to giue order for things that were needfull. In this countrey the winter and raine seemed to be like that of Castile. We rode al night two or three leagues distance from shore, and toward euening we saw fiue or sixe fires, whereat we all reioyced, but did not maruell thereat, because the situation of that countrey shewed to be habitable, being farre, pleasant, and all greene, and likewise because the Iland which we had left behinde vs being (as I haue said) twenty leagues in circuit, made shewe that it was well peopled. On the Wednesday we were 3 or 4 leagues at sea from the land, and began to see two fires more, and therefore we assured our selues that the countrey was very well inhabited; and the farther we sayled, we alwayes found it more ciuill. Floting weeds for fifty leagues. And for the space of fifty leagues before we came hither we alwayes found swimming on the sea certaine flotes of weedes of a ships length, and of the bredth of two ships, being, round and full of gourds, and vnder these weedes were many fishes, and on some of them were store of foules like vnto white sea-meawes. We supposed that these floting weeds did grow vpon some rocke under the water. We were now in 30 degrees of Northerly latitude. Twenty leagues beyond the Ile of Cedar. We sailed from the 7 of Ianuary vntill the 9 still with contrary windes: and on Fryday about noone there rose a North and Northeastern winde, which forced vs to returne vnder the shelter of that Iland which we left behind vs, from whence we had sayled about twentie leagues. And that Friday at night somewhat late we had sayled backe about twelue leagues of the same, and because it was night wee stayed in the sea, where we and our shippes were not a little troubled, so that all that night none of vs slept a winke, but watched euery one. The next morning betimes being Saturday we proceeded on our voyage, and gate vnder the shelter of the said Iland, riding in thirtie fadome water: and on that side where we ankored we found high and closed mountaines, with heapes of a certaine earth which was all ashes and burned, and in other places skorched and as blacke as coles, and like the rust of yron, and in other places whitish, and here and there small blacke hilles, whereat we maruelled exceedingly, considering that when we passed by, it seemed vnto vs an habitable countrey full of trees, and now we saw not a sticke growing on this side.
All of vs supposed that on the other side toward the firme
lande the trees grewe which we sawe, although (as I haue sayde) wee sayled foure or fiue leagues distant from the same.
We stayed here vnder the shelter of these mountaines Saturday, Sunday, and Munday, alwayes hauing the Northren winde so strong, that we thinke if it had caught vs in the sea, wee should haue bene cast away.