De Orbe Novo, Volume 1 (of 2): The Eight Decades of Peter Martyr D'AngheraAnghiera, Pietro Martire d'
History
De Orbe Novo, Volume 1 (of 2): The Eight Decades of Peter Martyr D'Anghera
Anghiera, Pietro Martire d'
America -- Early accounts to 1600
The day after the morrow, the brother of the king, acting in his own
name or in that of Guaccanarillo, came on board and won over the
women, for the following night Catherine, in order to recover her own
liberty and that of all her companions, yielded to the solicitation of
Guaccanarillo or his brother, and accomplished a feat more heroic than
that of the Roman Clelia, when she liberated the other virgins who had
served with her as hostages, swam the Tiber and thus escaped from the
power of Lars Porsena. Clelia crossed the river on a horse, while
Catherine and several other women trusted only to their arms and swam
for a distance of three miles in a sea by no means calm; for that,
according to every one's opinion, was the distance between the ships
and the coast. The sailors pursued them in light boats, guided by the
same light from the shore which served for the women, of whom they
captured three. It is believed that Catherine and four others escaped
to Guaccanarillo, for at daybreak, men sent out by the Admiral
announced that he and the women had fled together, taking all their
goods with them; and this fact confirmed the suspicion that he had
consented to the assassination of our men.
Melchior, whom I have mentioned, was then despatched with three
hundred men to search for him. In the course of his march he came upon
a winding gorge, overlooked by five lofty hills in such wise as to
suggest the estuary of a large river. There was found a large harbour,
safe and spacious, which they named Port Royal. The entrance of this
harbour is crescent-shaped, and is so regularly formed that it is
difficult to detect whether ships have entered from the right or the
left; this can only be ascertained when they return to the entrance.
Three large ships can enter abreast. The surrounding hills form the
coasts, and afford shelter from the winds. In the middle of the
harbour there rises a promontory covered with forests, which are full
of parrots and many other birds which there build their nests and fill
the air with sweet melodies. Two considerable rivers empty into this
harbour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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