21 fi JOURNAL OF GALLEGO. 



object in an excursion of 7 days. Whilst they were endeavouring 

 to make a trial of the ground in a large river, so many natives 

 crowded around them that they had to giv^e it up, because they 

 would not suffer them to do it. By a sign which they gave, they 

 said that there was gold. They have . . . } ; and here were found 

 the first hens of Castile. They brought back two young hens and a 

 cock, which they all received with much satisfaction, understanding 

 that they would discover better land." (These birds were evidently 

 the " bush-hens," MegapodAdcu, of these islands.) 



" Those in the brigantine, as they sailed along the coast of this 

 island from the south-east to the north-west,^ saw many villages 

 near a river that was nigli to the ships. We passed a league further 

 on, and after another league came to the river of Ortega. All this 

 coast is full of villages ; yet we did not stop to have seen more of it. 

 Goins: further alonof the coast, we came to a river and anchored in 

 it ; and we resolved to land to see the people who were there. More 

 than 200 Indians came out to meet us in a friendly manner, with 

 their bows in their hands and the clubs with which thev fisrht. 

 They gave us some plantains (platanos) which abound here. After 

 we had seen this, the people embarked ; however, they threw some 

 stones at us as we were embarking. We were from the ships 12 

 leagues. Proceeding on our course to the south-east, we saw in 

 another river a large population of natives, and we named it Rio de 

 San Bernardino because it was that same day. It is in the latitude 

 of 101°, and bears . . . .^ There is a very high round hill here. 

 This river is 4 leagues from where we started from, as I have 

 said.^ 



" We continued coastino^ alonof this same island ; and two leagues 

 from this river, we came to a great village on the bank of a small 

 river. Don Fernando landed, and took a canoe which he found in 

 the river, and also some roots, that they call "mames " (yams) and 

 others, " names," which they found in cases. We told the natives to 

 give us some hogs, and they should have their canoe back. They 

 said that they would give them to us with the intention of detaining 

 us whilst they collected their numbers. Thereupon they began to 

 play their instruments for^he battle. By the time we were em- 



^ " muclias guacanaras en cstc entrada." 



2 A perplexing error. Read instead, N.W. to S.E. Figueroa gives the course as E.S.E. 



8 " Nor norueste suhueste " (an inii)ossible bearing). 



* The sense of this sentence is not intelligible to me. 



