When the voyagers laughed at this legend, the priest of the village
showed them, on the early chart of Bianco, the name of "De la Man
Satanagio," and on that of Beccaria the name "Satanagio" alone, both these
being the titles of islands. Not alarmed at the name of Satan, as being
that of one whom they had supposed, in their days of darkness, to be their
patron, they pushed boldly out to sea and steered westward, a boat-load of
Spanish fishermen following in their wake. Passing island after island of
green and fertile look, they found themselves at last in what seemed a
less favored zone--as windy as the "roaring forties," and growing chillier
every hour. Fogs gathered quickly, so that they could scarcely see the
companion boat, and the Spanish fishermen called out to them, "Garda da la
Man do Satanaxio!" ("Look out for Satan's hand!")

As they cried, the fog became denser yet, and when it once parted for a
moment, something that lifted itself high above them, like a gigantic
hand, showed itself an instant, and then descended with a crushing grasp
upon the boat of the Spanish fishermen, breaking it to pieces, and
dragging some of the men below the water, while others, escaping, swam
through the ice-cold waves, and were with difficulty taken on board the
coracle; this being all the harder because the whole surface of the water
was boiling and seething furiously. Rowing away as they could from this
perilous neighborhood, they lay on their oars when the night came on, not
knowing which way to go. Gradually the fog cleared away, the sun rose
clearly at last, and wherever they looked on the deep they saw no traces
of any island, still less of the demon hand. But for the presence among
them of the fishermen they had picked up, there was nothing to show that
any casualty had happened.

That day they steered still farther to the west with some repining from