timid, they would strive, when attacked, to seize and devour their assailant. At last Columbus began to despair of finding the passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. As he was also threatened by furious storm winds he decided to turn back, and sailed to a spot which he called Veragua and in which, according to the natives, there were rich gold mines. A terrible storm, which lasted several days, and the rapid diminishing of his supplies made this short voyage one of his most troublesome and dangerous. The entire supply of food which remained, after being at sea eight months, consisted of some poor remnants of ship biscuit which had become so tainted by the hot, damp weather of the region that it was unfit to eat. Notwithstanding this, the disgusting stuff was eagerly devoured, but those eating it would go off into dark corners so as not to see what they were putting into their mouths. In this wretched plight they looked askance at the great number of sharks swimming around the vessels. The superstitious followers of Columbus regarded these monsters as signs of misfortune. But in spite of their superstitious fears and in spite of the disgust which Europeans have for such oily flesh, these famished people devoured shark meat with still greater zest because it tasted better than maggoty biscuit. Chapter XVII Columbus Abandons the Hope of Discovering a Passage to the Pacific and Returns to Jamaica, where his Vessels are Exposed to Great Danger—Two Boats are Sent to Haiti for Help Before Columbus could reach the gold region of Veragua he was forced by a gale to come to anchor for a shorter or longer time at different places to weather the storms. At one of these places he beheld a curious sight. The natives did not live on the ground like other people but in houses in the air, built among the branches of trees. In reality it seemed as if they lived like the birds. They chose this mode of living to protect themselves from floods, wild animals, and their enemies. They reached their habitations by ladders and, once they were at home, drew them up, so that all access to them was cut off. At last they reached Veragua, with expectations of rich booty, and came to anchor at the mouth of a river which Columbus named Belen. They shortly became acquainted with some of the natives and, learning from them that at the distance of a few days’ journey up the stream there was the city of a prince named Quibia, Columbus determined to sail up the river. Having done so, he sent his brother, Bartolomeo, ashore to give this Indian prince a fitting welcome. He had already been informed of the arrival of the whites, came to meet Bartolomeo, and they greeted one another with becoming friendliness. On the next day the prince visited the Admiral, who received him in a manner befitting his rank, and speedily made him his friend by a gift of some European trifles.