America -- Discovery and exploration; Discoveries in geography
When the barbarians leaped into the sea and attacked the boats the
cannon scattered them, but they rallied and fought more fiercely on
land. The Spaniards won that day's battle, but the dauntless islanders
were ready to renew the fight next morning. With his fifty-seven men
Ojeda routed the whole fighting force of the tribe, made many prisoners,
plundered and set fire to the villages, and returned to his ships. A
part of the spoil was bestowed on the seven friendly natives. Ojeda, who
had not received so much as a scratch, anchored in a bay for three weeks
to let his wounded recover. There were twenty-one wounded and one
Spaniard had been killed.
Sailing westward along the coast the fleet presently entered a vast gulf
like an inland sea, on the eastern side of which was a most curious
village. Ojeda could hardly believe the evidence of his own eyes. Twenty
large cone-shaped houses were built on piles driven into the bottom of
the lake, which in that part was clear and shallow. Each house had its
drawbridge, and communicated with its neighbors and with the shore by
means of canoes gliding along the water-ways between the piles. The
interpreters said it was called Coquibacoa.
"That is no proper name for so marvelous a place," said Ojeda after he
had tried to pronounce the clucking many-syllabled word. "Is it like
anything you have seen, Vespucci?"
The Italian had been comparing it with a similar village he had seen on
his first voyage, on a part of the coast called Lariab. He had an
instinct, however, that it would not be well to mix his own discoveries
with those of the present expedition.
"It is rather like Venice," he said demurely.
"That is the name for it," cried Ojeda in high
delight,--"Venezuela--Little Venice!"
"It would be interesting," observed Vespucci, "to know what names they
are giving to us. How they stare!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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