This island of Santa Cristina is very populous, and lofty in the centre. It has its ravines and valleys, where the natives live. The port was named “Madre de Dios.” Praise to her! It is in the western part, in latitude 9° 30', sheltered from all winds, only excepting the west, which never was found to blow. Its shape is that of a horse-shoe, with a narrow mouth, and at the entrance it has a clear bottom of sand, with a depth of 30 fathoms, in the middle 24, and 12 near the beach. The marks by which it is known are a hill to the south, rising from the sea, having a peak terminating in three others on its summit; to the north a concave rock; within the port five wooded ravines, all coming down to the sea, and a hill which divides the little beaches of sand, having a stream of excellent water falling from a height of a man’s stature and a half, the thickness of a fist, where the barrels can be filled. Near it there is a stream of equally good water, flowing near a village which the natives have there. So that waterfall, stream, and village are all on the shore, which is on the north side of the hill. On the south side of it there are houses scattered among the trees. To the east there are high rocky hills, with some ravines whence the stream descends.

Some of the natives of these islands did not appear to be as white as those of Magdalena. They have the same form of speech, the same arms and canoes, with which they communicate. Their village is built on two sides of a square, one north and south, the other east to west, with the surroundings well paved. The rest is a space with very tall and thick trees. The houses appear to be for the community, after the manner of slave quarters, and open to wind and water, the floor being raised above that of the street. It appeared that many people were lodged in each house, for there were many bed-places, and these low. Some houses had low doors, and others had all the front open. They are of wood, interwoven with very large canes having joints of more than 5 palmos1 in length, and of the thickness of a man’s arm. The roof is of the leaves from the trees in the open space.

The Chief Pilot did not see anything of the women, because he did not land at the time that they came; but all who saw them reported that they had beautiful legs and hands, fine eyes, fair countenances, small waists, and graceful forms, and some of them prettier than the ladies of Lima, who are famed for their beauty. Respecting their complexion, if it cannot be called white, it is nearly white. They go with a certain covering from the breasts downwards.

Apart from the village there was an oracle surrounded by palisades, with the entrance on the west side. Within there was a house, almost in the middle, in which there were some wooden figures badly carved; and here were offerings of food and a pig, which the soldiers took. Wanting to take other things, the natives interfered, saying they must not take anything, showing that they respected that house and the figures.

Outside the village they had some very long and well-made canoes of a single tree, with the form of a keel, bow, and stern, and with boards well fastened with ropes made from cocoa fibre. In each one there is room for thirty or forty natives as rowers; and they gave us to understand, when they were asked, that they went in these large canoes to other lands. They work with adzes, which they make of thick fish-bones and shells. They sharpen them with large pebbles, which they have for the purpose.

The temperature, health, vigour, and corpulence of these people tell what the climate must be under which they live. One suffers cold at night, but the sun does not cause much molestation by day. There were some showers, not heavy; dew was never felt, but very great dryness, so much so that wet things, when left out all night on the ground, were found quite dry in the morning. But we could not tell whether this was so all the year round.

They saw pigs, and fowls of Castille, and the fishery is certain wherever there is sea.

The trees which have been mentioned as being in the open space before the village yield a fruit which reaches to the size of a boy’s head. Its colour, when it is ripe, is a clear green, and when unripe it is very green. The rind has crossed scales like a pineapple, its shape not quite round, being rather more narrow at the end than near the stem. From the stem grows a leaf-stalk reaching to the middle of the fruit, with a covering sheath. It has no core nor pips, nor anything uneatable except the skin, and that is thin. All the rest is a mass of pulp when ripe, not so much when green. They feed much upon it in all sorts of ways, and it is so wholesome that they call it white food. It is a good fruit and of much substance. The leaves of the tree are large, and much serrated, like those of the papay.2

They found many caves full of a kind of sour dough, which the Chief Pilot tasted. There is another fruit covered on the outside with prickles like a chestnut, but each as big as six of Castille, with nearly the same taste. Its shape is like a heart, flattened. They eat many, roast and boiled, and leave them on the trees to ripen.

There are nuts the size of those of Castille, and appear to be almost the same in taste. The outside is very hard and without joint, and its kernel is not attached to the rind, so that it comes out easily and entire when opened. It is an oily fruit. They ate and took away many of them.

They saw calabashes of Castille sown on the beach, and some red flowers pleasant to look on, but without smell. As our people did not go inland, and all the natives retreated into the woods, as has been said, this is all that can be related. The soldiers said that all the trees appeared to bear fruit.

Our men were very well received by the natives, but it was not understood why they gave us a welcome, or what was their intention. For we did not understand them; and to this may be attributed the evil things that happened, which might have been avoided if there had been some one to make us understand each other.