28

LIFE OF COLON, BY HIS SON.

morning they pointed upon the ftar. On Saturday the fifteenth of September, beingalmoft three hundred leagues weft of Ferro , at night they faw a wonderful flalh oflight fall from the fky into the fea, about four or five leagues diftance from the fbipstowards the fouth-weft, though the leather was then fair, like April, the wind favour-able at north-eaft, the fea ftill, and the current fetting north-eaft. The men aboardthe caraval, called La Nina, told the admiral, they had the Friday before feen a heronand another fort of bird, which the Spaniards call rabo de junco, which they wereamazed at, thofe being the firft birds they had feen : but they were more furprifedthe next day, which was Sunday, at the great abundance of weeds between green andyellow, that appeared upon the water, which feemed to be newly wafhed away fromfbme ifland or rock. They faw enough of thefe weeds the next day, which mademany affirm they were already near land, efpecially becaufe they faw a fmall lobfteralive among thofe weeds, which they faid fomewhat refembled the herb ftar-wort,but that the ftalk and branches were long, and it was all full of fmall feeds. After-wards they obferved that the fea water was but half as fait as before; befides, thatnight abundance of tunny fifhes followed them, running along, and flicking fo clofeto them, that thofe aboard the caraval Nina, killed one with a bearded iron. Beingnow three hundred and fixty leagues weft of Ferro , they faw another of thofe birdsthe Spaniards call rabo de junco, becaufe of a long feather their tail confifts of,and in Spanifh, rabo fignifies a tail, as junco is a rufh, fo that rabo de junco importsrufh tail. On Tuefday following, being the eighteenth of September, Martin AlonzoPinzon, who was gone a-head with the caraval called Pinta, which was an excellentfailer, lay by for the admiral, and told him he had feen a great number of birds flyaway weftward, for which reafon he hoped to find land that night, and he thought hefaw the land to the northward, fifteen leagues diftant; that day about fun-fetting,looking very dark and cloudy. But the admiral knowing for certain it was no land,he would not lofe time to difcover it, as all his men would have had him ; forafimichas he was not yet come to the place where he expected by his computation to findland, therefore they took in their top fails at night, becaufe the wind frefhenedyhaving for eleven days never abated one handful of fail, going ftill before the windweftward.

CHAP. XIX. — How all the Metz carefully obferved what Signs they difcovcred, being

eager to difcover Land .

ALL the men aboard the fhips being unacquainted with that voyage, and fearfulof the danger becaufe far from any relief, there were fome that began to mutter,and feeing nothing but fky and water, carefully obferved every thing that appeared,at greater diftance from land than any had been before. For which reafon I willrelate all they made any account of, and this only in the firft voyage; for I fhall notmention leffer tokens generally feen upon fuch occafions. On the 19th of September,in the morning, a fowl called Alcatraz, which is a fort of fea-gull, flew over theadmiral’s fhip, and others in the afternoon, which made him conceive hope of land,he imagining they would not fly very far from it. Upon thefe hopes, as foon as thewind abated, they founded with two hundred fathom of line j and though they foundno bottom, they perceived the current now fet fouth-weft. On Thurfday, the 22d,two hours before noon, two alcatrazes came to the fhip, and another fome time after;befides, they took a bird like a heron, but that it was black, and had a white tuft o*the head, the feet like a duck, as commonly water-fowls have \ they alfo caught a little

4 fifh,