On Friday the 4th of January 1493, the admiral set sail at sun-rise, standing to the north-west, having the boats a-head to lead him safe cut of shoal water. He named the port which he now quitted Navidad, or the Nativity, because he had landed there on Christmas day, escaping the dangers of the sea, and because he began there to build the first Christian colony in the new world which he had discovered. The flats through which he now sailed reach from Cape Santo to Cape Serpe, which forms an extent of six leagues, and they run above three leagues out to sea. All the coast to the north-west and south-east, is an open beach, and continues plain and level for four leagues into the country, where high mountains begin, and the villages were more numerous than are to be seen in the other islands. Having got past the shoals, the admiral sailed towards a high mountain, which he called Monte Christo, eighteen leagues east of Cape Santo. Whosoever wishes to arrive at the Nativity from the eastwards, most first make Monte Christo, which is a rock of a round or conical form, almost like a pavilion. Keeping two leagues out to sea from this mountain, he must sail west till he comes to Cape Santo, whence the Nativity is five leagues distant, and to reach which place, certain channels among the shoals which lie before it must be passed through. The admiral chose to particularize these marks that it might be known where the first Christian habitation had been established in these parts.

While sailing eastwards from Monte Christo with a contrary wind on Sunday, the 6th of January, a sailor from the round top discovered in the morning the caravel Pinta coming down westward, right before the wind. As soon as it came up with the admiral, the captain Martin Alonzo Pinzon came on board, and began to give reasons and excuses for leaving the squadron, alleging that it had been against his will. Though the admiral was satisfied that it had proceeded from evil intentions, well remembering the bold and mutinous proceedings of Pinzon during the voyage, he yet concealed his displeasure and accepted the excuses, lest he might ruin the voyage, as most of the crew were Martins countrymen, and several of them his relations. The truth is, that when Martin Alonzo forsook the admiral at Cuba, he went purposely away with the design of sailing to Bohio, where he learned from the Indians on board his caravel that plenty of gold was to be found. But not finding the object of his search, he had returned to Hispaniola where other Indians informed him there was much gold, and had spent twenty days in sailing not above fifteen leagues east of the Nativity, where he had lain sixteen days in a river, which the admiral called the river of Grace, and had there procured a considerable quantity of gold for things of small value, as the admiral had done at the Nativity. He distributed half of this gold among his crew, that he might gain them to his purposes, and concealed the rest for his own emolument, pretending to the admiral that he had not got any. Finding the wind still contrary, the admiral came to an anchor under Monte Christo, and went in his boat up a river to the south-west of that mountain, where he discovered signs of gold in the sand, on which account he called it the river of gold. This river is seventeen leagues east of the Nativity, and is not much less than the Guadalquivir which runs past Cordova.

Proceeding afterwards on the voyage, and being off Cape Enamorado, or the Lovers Cape, on Sunday the 13th of January, the admiral sent the boat on shore to examine the nature of the country. Our people there found a considerable number of fierce looking Indians, armed with bows and arrows, who seemed disposed to enter into hostilities, yet considerably alarmed at the appearance of the Spaniards. After some conference, our people bought two of their bows and some arrows, and with much difficulty prevailed on one of them to go on board the admiral. These people appeared much fiercer than any of the natives who had been hitherto seen; and their faces were all daubed over with charcoal; their hair was very long, and hung in a bag made of parrots feathers. Their mode of speech resembled the fierceness of their aspect and demeanour, and one of them, standing completely naked before the admiral, said in a lofty tone that all in these parts went in the same manner. Thinking this Indian was one of those called Caribs, and that the bay they were now in divided that race from the other inhabitants of Hispaniola, the admiral asked him where the Caribs dwelt. Pointing with his finger, the Indian expressed by signs that they inhabited another island to the eastwards, in which there were pieces of guanin27 as large as half the stern of the caravel. He said moreover, that the island of Matinino was entirely inhabited by women, with whom the Caribs cohabited at a certain season; and that such sons as they brought forth were afterwards carried away by the fathers, while the daughters remained with their mothers28. Having answered all the questions, partly by signs, and partly by means of what little of their language the Indians from St Salvador could understand, the admiral gave this person to eat, and presented him with some baubles, such as glass beads and slips of green and red cloth, and sent him on shore, desiring that his companions would bring gold to barter as had been done by the other Indians.

When our people landed with this man, they found fifty-five other Indians among the trees near the shore, all of them armed with bows and arrows, perfectly naked and having their long hair tied into a large knot on the crown of the head, as worn by the women in Spain, and decorated with plumes of various feathers. The man who had been on board prevailed upon them to lay down their bows and arrows and great clubs, which they carry instead of swords. The Christians stept on shore, and began to trade for bows and arrows, as ordered by the admiral; but after selling two, they scornfully refused to part with any more, and even made demonstrations to seize the Spaniards, running to where they had left their arms, and taking up ropes as if to bind our men. They being now on their guard, and seeing the Indians coming furiously to attack them, although only seven, fell courageously upon them, and cut one with a sword on the buttock, and shot another in the breast with an arrow. Astonished at the resolution of our men, and terrified at the effect of our weapons, the Indians fled, leaving most of their bows and arrows behind; and great numbers of them would certainly have been killed, but the pilot of the caravel, who commanded the boats crew, restrained our people from any farther vengeance. The admiral was not at all displeased at this skirmish, as he imagined these Indians were Caribs, so much dreaded by all the other natives of Hispaniola; or at least, being a bold and resolute people, that they bordered on that race; and he hoped that the islanders on hearing how seven Spaniards had so easily defeated fifty-five fierce Indians, would give the more honour and respect to our men who had been left at the Nativity.

Afterwards about the evening, these people made a smoke as if in defiance; but on sending a boat on shore to see what they wanted, they could not be brought to venture near our people, and the boat returned. Their bows were of a wood resembling yew, and almost as large and strong as those of France and England; the arrows of small twigs which grow from the ends of the canes, massive and very solid, about the length of a mans arm and a half; the head is made of a small stick hardened in the fire, about three-eighths of a yard long, tipped with a fishes tooth, or sharpened bone, and smeared with poison. On this account, the admiral named the bay in which he then was Golpho de Flechas, or Gulf of arrows; the Indians called it Samana. This place appeared to produce great quantities of fine cotton, and the plant named axi by the Indians, which is their pepper and is very hot, some of which is long and others round29. Near the land where the water was shallow, there grew large quantities of those weeds which had formerly been seen in such abundance on the ocean; whence it was concluded that it all grew near the land, and broke loose when ripe, floating out to sea with the currents.