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/ ///•; ami: RICAN NATURALIST [Vol. LIII 



kept a journal of his second voyage until he was stricken 

 down by sickness, and this is attested to by both the His- 

 toric and by Las Casas. 



Ferdinand himself on this point says (Churchill's 

 Voyages, II, p. 560) that, after the fishing scene above 

 described, the Admiral held on his course though worn 

 out witli fatigue, neither having had his clothes off nor 

 lain 111 a lu'd sine., leaving Spain "till the 19th of May 

 ( ] V.n ) wIkmi he w ril this," i.e., the account of the fishing 

 xM.iu. ill ()iiccii"s (lardcii. Windsor states (page 39) that 

 tlic Historic" was uj) to 1871 believed to be a biography 

 of Columbus by his son 1^'erdinand, and that though 

 doubted by some, is still firmly held to by many authori- 

 ties. With the above conclusions, Dr. Eastman and I, 

 after a careful study of all the available data, found our- 

 selves in full accord. 



Las Casas, the great apostle to the Indians, left at his 

 death a manuscript history of the West Indies. This 

 had been long in the writing, from 1527 possibly, or more 

 positively from 1552, to 1561 (Las (Jasas died 1566), but 

 was longer in getting published (1875). However, in its 

 manuscript form, it was available from the time of his 

 death for all later historians. 



Las Casas 's account of the fishing scene need not de- 

 lalii us liere since it is (essentially like iliat in the "His- 

 h.i-ie" by I'ei-dinaiHl, and like that in the "Libretto" of 

 ir)<i4;iiid the l)e(-;ide>" of 1 T) 11 . Mncli niore important 

 i> tlh' Murry a- to the ^onrc•e of La> Casas's data. Win- 

 sor oi) and 47) quotes Harrisse that he thinks that 

 both Ferdinand, or the author of the "Flistorie," and 

 Las Casas had access to common documents or may be a, 

 maniiseri])t prototyp(> of their writings. And later (p. 

 56) Wins..)- speaks of "the Journal .)f ("o]innl)us as pre- 

 served h> Las ( 'a>as.*' 



One fui-ther x.mv.. of infoi'niat ion iie..ds t.) ho set 

 forth, and then after a Iwief eoiisidora; i..n of Vr\rv Mar- 

 I.M--^ ^onre..., tlii^ i>a]-t <.f our MudN will Iini>hed. 

 About \hr niiddl- of April, lin:,. Dr. LaMnian -ot word 



