Domingo. He says he gave it this name because "the plains appeared to
him almost exactly like those of Castile, but yet more beautiful."

He coasted eastward along the northern side of the island, hoping that
it might be the continent, and always inquiring for gold when he landed;
but the Indians, as before, referred him to yet another land, still
further south, which they still called Bohio. It was not surrounded by
water, they said. The word "caniba," which is the origin of our word
"cannibal," and refers to the fierce Caribs, came often into their talk.
The sound of the syllable can made Columbus more sure that he was now
approaching the dominions of the Grand Khan of eastern Asia, of whom
Marco Polo had informed Europe so fully.

On the twelfth of the month, after a landing in which a cross had been
erected, three sailors went inland, pursuing the Indians. They captured
a young woman whom they brought to the fleet. She wore a large ring of
gold in her nose. She was able to understand the other Indians whom
they had on board. Columbus dressed her, gave her some imitation pearls,
rings and other finery, and then put her on shore with three Indians and
three of his own men.

The men returned the next day without going to the Indian village.
Columbus then sent out nine men, with an Indian, who found a town of a
thousand huts about four and a half leagues from the ship. They thought
the population was three thousand. The village in Cuba is spoken of as
having twenty people to a house. Here the houses were smaller or the
count of the numbers extravagant. The people approached the explorers
carefully, and with tokens of respect. Soon they gained confidence
and brought out food for them: fish, and bread made from roots, "which
tasted exactly as if it were made of chestnuts."