eight months. And, sailing westwards with a fair easterly wind, in twenty-five days we ran five hundred leagues; and the 20th of February we were overtaken with as sharp and terrible a tempest as ever any sailors suffered: whereof, with the divine help and merciful assistance of Almighty God, and the goodness of our ship, accompanied with the good hap of her fortunate name, we were delivered, and with a prosperous wind followed our course west by north. And in other twenty-five days we made about four hundred leagues more, where we discovered a new land74 never before seen of any man, either ancient or modern. And at the first sight it seemed somewhat low; but, being within a quarter of a league of it, we perceived, by the great fires that we saw by the seacoast, that it was inhabited, and saw that the land stretched to the southwards. …
While we rode75 upon that coast, partly because it had no harbor, and for that we wanted water, we sent our boat ashore with twenty-five men, where, by reason of great and continual waves that beat against the shore, being an open coast, without succor none of our men could possibly go ashore without losing our boat. We saw there many people which came unto the shore making divers signs of friendship, and showing that they were content we should come a-land; and by trial we found them to be very courteous and gentle, as your Majesty shall understand by the success. To the intent we might send them of our things, which the Indians commonly desire and esteem, as sheets of paper, glasses, bells, and such like trifles, we sent a young man, one of our mariners, ashore, who swimming towards them, and being within three or four yards off the shore, not trusting them, cast the things upon the shore. Seeking afterwards to return, he was with such violence of the waves beaten upon the shore, that he was so bruised that he lay there almost dead, which the Indians perceiving, ran to catch him, and, drawing him out, they carried him a little way off from the sea. The young man, perceiving they carried him, being at the first dismayed, began then greatly to fear, and cried out piteously. Likewise did the Indians, which did accompany him, going about to cheer him and give him courage; and then setting him on the ground at the foot of a little hill against the sun, began to behold him with great admiration, marvelling at the whiteness of his flesh. And, putting off his clothes, they made him warm at a great fire, not without our great fear, which remained in the boat, that they would have roasted him at that fire and have eaten him. The young man having recovered his strength, and having staid a while with them, showed them by signs that he was desirous to return to the ship. And they with great love, clapping him fast about with many embracings, accompanying him unto the sea, and, to put him in more assurance, leaving him alone, went unto a high ground, and stood there, beholding him until he was entered into the boat. This young man observed, as we did also, that these are of color inclining to black, as the others were, with their flesh very shining, of mean stature, handsome visage, and delicate limbs, and of very little strength, but of prompt wit; farther we observed not. …
VERRAZZANO IN NEWPORT HARBOR.
Departing from hence, following the shore, which trended somewhat toward the north, in fifty leagues’ space we came to another land, which showed much more fair, and full of woods, being very great, where we rode at anchor; and, that we might have some knowledge thereof, we sent twenty men a-land,76 which entered into the country about two leagues, and they found that the people were fled to the woods for fear. They saw only one old woman with a young maid of eighteen or twenty years old, which, seeing our company, hid themselves in the grass for fear. The old woman carried two infants on her shoulders, and behind her neck a child of eight years old. The young woman was laden likewise with as many. But, when our men came unto them, the old woman made signs that the men were fled into the woods as soon as they saw us. To quiet them, and to win their favor, our men gave them such victuals as they had with them to eat, which the old woman received thankfully; but the young woman disdained them all, and threw them disdainfully on the ground. They took a child from the old woman to bring into France; and going about to take the young woman, which was very beautiful, and of tall stature, could not possibly, for the great outcries that she made, bring her to the sea; and especially having great woods to pass through, and being far from the ship, we purposed to leave her behind, bearing away the child only. We found those folks to be more white than those that we found before, being clad with certain leaves that hang on the boughs of trees, which they sew together with threads of wild hemp. Their heads were trussed up after the same manner as the former were. Their ordinary food is of pulse,77 whereof they have great store, differing in color and taste from ours, of good and pleasant taste. Moreover they live by fishing and fowling, which they take with gins78 and bows made of hard wood, the arrows of canes being headed with the bones of fish and other beasts. The beasts in these parts are much wilder than in our Europe, by reason they are continually chased and hunted.
We saw many of their boats, made of one tree, twenty feet long and four feet broad, which are not made of iron, or stone, or any other kind of metal, because that in all this country, for the space of two hundred leagues which we ran, we never saw one stone of any sort. They help themselves with fire, burning so much of the tree as is sufficient for the hollowness of the boat: the like they do in making the stern and forepart, until it be fit to sail upon the sea. …
INDIANS MAKING CANOES.
And we came to another land,79 being fifteen leagues distant from the island, where we found a passing good haven, wherein being entered, we found about twenty small boats of the people, which, with divers cries and wonderings, came about our ship. Coming no nearer than fifty paces towards us, they staid and beheld the artificialness of our ship, our shape, and apparel, that they all made a loud shout together, declaring that they rejoiced. When we had something animated80 them, using their gestures, they came so near us, that we cast them certain bells and glasses and many toys, which when they had received, they looked on them with laughing, and came without fear aboard our ship. There were amongst these people two kings of so goodly stature and shape as is possible to declare: the eldest was about forty years of age; the second was a young man of twenty years old. Their apparel was on this manner: the elder had upon his naked body a hart’s81 skin, wrought artificially with divers branches like damask. His head was bare, with the hair tied up behind with divers knots. About his neck he had a large chain garnished with divers stones of sundry colors. The young man was almost apparelled after the same manner. This is the goodliest people, and of the fairest conditions, that we have found in this our voyage. They exceed us in bigness. They are of the color of brass, some of them incline more to whiteness: others are of a yellow color, of comely visage, with long and black hair, which they are very careful to trim and deck up. …
There are also of them which wear on their arms very rich skins of leopards: they adorn their heads with divers ornaments made of their own hair, which hangs down before on both sides their breasts: others use other kind of dressing themselves, like unto the women of Egypt and Syria. These are of the elder sort; and, when they are married, they wear divers toys,82 according to the usage of the people of the East, as well men as women. …
Among whom we saw many plates of wrought copper, which they esteem more than gold, which for the color they make no account of, for that among all other it is counted the basest. They make the most account of azure and red. The things that they esteemed most of all those which we gave them were bells, crystal of azure color, and other toys to hang at their ears or about their neck. They did not desire cloth of silk or gold, much less of any other sort; neither cared they for things made of steel and iron, which we often showed them in our armor, which they made no wonder at; and, in beholding them, they only asked the art of making them. The like they did at our glasses,83 which when they beheld, they suddenly laughed, and gave them us again. …
And oftentimes one of the two kings coming with his queen, and many gentlemen for their pleasure, to see us, they all staid on the shore, two hundred paces from us, sending a small boat to give us intelligence of their coming, saying they would come to see our ship. This they did in token of safety; and, as soon as they had answer from us, they came immediately, and, having staid awhile to
