As to what he says of cinnamon, and aloes and ginger, incense, myrobolans, sandal woods, I never saw them in this island, at least I did not recognize them; what he says of flax must mean _cabuya_[364-4] which are leaves like the _cavila_ from which thread is made and cloth or linen can be made from it, but it is more like hemp cloth than linen. There are two sorts of it, _cabuya_ and _nequen_; _cabuya_ is coarse and rough and _nequen_ is soft and delicate. Both are words of this island Española. Storax gum I never smelled except in the island of Cuba, but I did not see it, and this is certain that in Cuba there must be trees of it, or of a gum that smells like it, because we never smelled it except in the fires that the Indians make of wood that they burn in their houses. It is a most perfect perfume, certainly. I never knew of incense being found in these islands.
Returning to the journey, Friday, August 17, he went 37 leagues, the sea being smooth, "to God our Lord," he says, "may infinite thanks be given." He says that not finding islands now, assures him that that land from whence he came is a vast mainland, or where the Earthly Paradise is, "because all say that it is at the end of the east, and this is the Earthly Paradise,"[365-1] says he.
Saturday, between day and night, he went 39 leagues.
Sunday, August 19, he went in the day and the night 33 leagues, and reached land; and this was a very small island which he called Madama Beata, and which is now commonly so called. This is a small island of a matter of a league and a half close by this island of Española, and distant from this port of Sancto Domingo about 50 leagues and distant 15 leagues from the port of Yaquino, which is more to the west. There is next to it another smaller one which has a small but somewhat high mountain, which from a distance looks like a sail, and he named it Alto Velo.[365-2] He believed that the Beata was a small island which he called Sancta Catherina when he came by this southern coast, from the discovery of the island of Cuba, and distant from this port of Sancto Domingo 25 leagues, and is next to this island. It weighed upon him to have fallen off in his course so much, and he says it should not be counted strange, since during the nights he was from caution beating about to windward, for fear of running against some islands or shoals; there was therefore reason for this error, and thus in not following a straight course, the currents, which are very strong here, and which flow down towards the mainland and the west, must have carried the ships, without realizing it, so low. They run so violently there toward La Beata that it has happened that a ship has been eight months in those waters without being able to reach this port and that much of delay in coming from there here, has happened many times.