it, who were always eager to come to anchor, and have communication with
the shore. [150]

The adjacent country was level and verdant, covered with herbage, but with
few trees. The port was infested with alligators, which basked in the
sunshine on the beach, filling the air with a powerful and musky odor.
They were timorous, and fled on being attacked, but the Indians affirmed
that if they found a man sleeping on shore they would seize and drag him
into the water. These alligators Columbus pronounced to be the same as the
crocodiles of the Nile. For nine days the squadron was detained in this
port, by tempestuous weather. The natives of this place were tall, well
proportioned, and graceful; of gentle and friendly manners, and brought
whatever they possessed to exchange for European trinkets.

As long as the admiral had control over the actions of his people, the
Indians were treated with justice and kindness, and every thing went on
amicably. The vicinity of the ships to land, however, enabled the seamen
to get on shore in the night without license. The natives received them in
their dwellings with their accustomed hospitality; but the rough
adventurers, instigated by avarice and lust, soon committed excesses that
roused their generous hosts to revenge. Every night there were brawls and
fights on shore, and blood was shed on both sides. The number of the
Indians daily augmented by arrivals from the interior. They became more
powerful and daring as they became more exasperated; and seeing that the
vessels lay close to the shore, approached in a great multitude to attack
them.

The admiral thought at first to disperse them by discharging cannon
without ball, but they were not intimidated by the sound, regarding it as
a kind of harmless thunder. They replied to it by yells and howlings,