CHAP. I V . ]
CHRISTOPHER
181
COLUMBUS.
C H A P T E R IV.
FURTHER COASTING OF CUBA.
W H I L E awaiting the return of his ambassadors, the admiral ordered the ships to be careened and repaired; and employed himself in collecting information concerning the country. On the day after their departure, he ascended the river in boats for the distance of two leagues, until he came to fresh water.
Here
landing, he climbed a hill to obtain a view of the interior.
His
view, however, was shut in by thick and lofty forests, of wild but beautiful luxuriance.
Among the trees were some which he
considered linaloes; many were odoriferous, and he doubted not possessed valuable aromatic qualities.
There was a general
eagerness among the voyagers to find the precious articles of commerce which grow in the favored climes of the East; and their imaginations were continually deceived by their hopes. For two or three days the admiral was excited by reports of cinnamon-trees, and nutmegs, and rhubarb; but, on examination, they all proved fallacious.
He showed the natives specimens
of those and various other spices and drugs, and understood from them that those articles abounded to the southeast.
He showed
them gold and pearls also, and several old Indians spoke of a country where the natives wore ornaments of them round their