“I ascertained, notwithstanding, by the compass and by observation, that I was running parallel with the coast of Tierra-firme. No one could tell under what part of the heavens we were, nor at what time I changed my course for the island of Española. The pilots thought we had arrived at the island of St. John, whereas it was the land of Mango, four hundred leagues westward of the place mentioned by them. Let them answer and say if they know where Veragua is situated. I assert that they can give no other information than that they went to lands where there was plenty of gold, and this they can surely affirm; but they do not know the way to return there for it. They would be obliged to go on a voyage of discovery as if they had never been there before. There is a way of reckoning [the course and distance sailed] derived from astronomy which is trustworthy and safe, and a sufficient guide to any one who understands it. This resembles prophetic vision. “The vessels of India do not sail except with the wind abaft. This is done, not because they are badly built or clumsy, but because the strong currents in those parts, together with the wind, make it impracticable for them to sail with the bowline (_con bolina_), for in one day they would lose as much way as they might have made in seven. For a similar reason I could not use caravels, even though they were Portuguese lateens. This is the reason for their [the vessels of India] not sailing except with a favorable wind, and they will sometimes remain in port, waiting for one, seven or eight months at a time, nor is this particularly strange, for the same occurs often in Spain.”—_Vide_ Select letters of Christopher Columbus. Major. [214] Historie del S. D. Fernando Colombo. cap. xcvii-c. [215] Letter from Jamaica, July 7, 1503.