410
L I F E A N D V O Y A G E S OF
[BOOK
VII.
CHAPTER IV.
COASTING OF THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF CUBA.
[1494.]
ANIMATED by one of the pleasing illusions of his ardent imagi nation, Columbus pursued his voyage, with a prosperous breeze, along the supposed continent of Asia.
He was now opposite that
part of the southern side of Cuba, where, for nearly thirty-five leagues, the navigation is unembarrassed by banks and islands. To his left was the broad and open sea, the dark blue color of which gave token of ample depth; to his right extended the richlywooded province of Ornofay, gradually sweeping up into a range of interior mountains; the verdant coast watered by innumerable streams, and studded with Indian villages.
The appearance of the
ships spread wonder and joy along the sea-coast.
The natives
hailed with acclamations the arrival of these wonderful beings whose fame had circulated more or less throughout the island, and who brought with them the blessings of heaven.
They came off
swimming, or in their canoes, to offer the fruits and productions of the land, and regarded the white men almost with adoration. After the usual evening shower, when the breeze blew from the shore and brought off the sweetness of the land, it bore with it also the distant songs of the natives and the sound of their rude