Excerpt from: The Log of Columbus * Wednesday, 23 January 1493

Taken from The Log of Columbus
Wednesday, 23 January 1493

Last night there were many changes in the wind, and having been on the alert for everything and having taken the precautions good sailors are accustomed to take and must take, I went last night to the NE by north about 63 miles. I waited many times for the Pinta, which had a lot of difficulty sailing close to the wind because the mast was not sound and the mizzen helped her very little. If her captain, Martin Alonso Pinzon, had taken as much trouble to provide himself with a good mast in the Indies, where there are so many good ones, as he did to separate himself from me with the intention of filling his ship with gold, he would have been better off. Many ringtails appeared and much seaweed. The sky is very disturbed these days, but it has not rained and the sea is very calm all the time, as in a river, many thanks be given to God. After sunrise I made about 22 ½ miles for part of the day straight to the NE. The remainder of the day I went to the ENE another 22 ½ miles.

Excerpt from: The Log of Christopher Columbus * Tuesday, 22 January 1493

Taken from The Log of Columbus
Tuesday, 22 January 1493

Yesterday after sunset I sailed to the NNE with the wind east and veering to the SE. I made 6 knots during the five half-hour glasses and for three before the watch began. I thus made 24 miles. Then I went to the north by east for six glasses, which would be another 18 miles. I then went for four glasses of the second watch to the NE at 4 ½ knots, which is 9 miles to the NE. From then until sunrise I went to the ENE during 11 glasses at 4 ½ knots, or 24 ¾ miles. I then went ENE until 11 o’clock in the morning, 24 miles. The wind became dead calm and I went no further today.

The Indians went swimming, and we saw ringtails and a great deal of seaweed.
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If you remember, Columbus “took” a few Indians on his return voyage to Spain.

 

Excerpt from: The Log of Christopher Columbus * Tuesday, 15 January 1493 (Part 4 of 4)

Taken from The Log of Christopher Columbus (Part 4 of 4)
Tuesday, 15 January 1493

There is a great deal of cotton here, very fine and long, as well as a lot of mastic, and gold and copper. There is also much aji,* which is their pepper and is worth more than our pepper; no one eats without it because it is very healthy. Fifty caravels can be loaded each year with it on this Isla Espanola. There is a lot of seaweed in this bay of the same kind that we found in the ocean when we came to make the discovery. Because of this, I believe there are islands lying in a straight line to the east from where I began to find them. I am certain that this seaweed grows in shallow water near the land; if this is so, then these Indies are very close to the Canary Islands. For this reason I believe that the Canaries are less than 1,200 miles from the Indies.

*Chili pepper; the word is still commonly used. Not to be confuse with aje (yuca or sweet potatoes) or ajo (garlic).

Excerpt from: The Log of Christopher Columbus * Tuesday, 15 January 1493 (Part 3 of 4)

Taken from The Log of Christopher Columbus (Part 3 of 4)
Tuesday, 15 January 1493

The bows of these people are as large as those in France and England. The arrows are just like the spears of the other people I have seen before, made fr...om cane stalks that have gone to seed. They are very straight and one-and-a-half or two yards long, and they place a sharpened stick in the end, a palm-and-a-half long. At the end of this little stick some of them insert a fish tooth, and most of them put poison on the tip. They do not shoot as in other places, but in a peculiar way that cannot do much harm. The bows seem to be made of yew.

Excerpt from: The Log of Christopher Columbus * Tuesday, 15 January 1493 (Part 2 of 4)

Taken from The Log of Christopher Columbus (Part 2 of 4)
Tuesday, 15 January 1493

I sent the boat ashore; although the king of this country did not come because his village is a long way off, he did send the crown of gold that he promised, and many other men came with cotton, bread, and ajes, all carrying their bows and arrows. After we had traded everything with the Indians, four young men came to the caravel and gave such a good account of these islands lying to the east on my intended course that I have decided to take them with me to Castile. These Indians have no iron or other metal here that can be seen, although in a few days you cannot learn much about a country because of the difficulty with the language. I can understand it only by intuition, nor did the Indians learn what I was asking in a few days.
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Columbus called yuca ajes

Excerpt from: The Log of Christopher Columbus * Tuesday, 15 January 1493 (Part 1 of 4)

Taken from The Log of Christopher Columbus (Part 1 of 4)
Tuesday, 15 January 1493

I wish to depart because nothing is gained by staying here. Too many disagreements have taken place. I have also learned today that the bulk of the gold is in the vicinity of Your Highnesses’ Villa de la Navidad. There is a great deal of copper on the island of Caribe and on Matinino, but it would be difficult to obtain it in Caribe because the people eat human flesh. I can see the island of Caribe* and have determined to go there, since it is on the course to the island of Matinino, which is inhabited only by women. I want to see both of these islands and take some of the inhabitants with me.

*Columbus can see the eastern half of the Cordillera Oriental, across Samana Bay and thinks it is a separate island.

End of the Log of Christopher Columbus posts

The Log of Christopher Columbus has been a 4 month project that has been a labor of love. We wanted to share the only written record of that time with the decendants of the people who Columbus encountered. We know some of you enjoyed it, some of you told us you were bored with it, and many others of you left our page because of it, but in the end, we hope that those of you who stayed with us thr...oughout learned something about the Taino and the period of time when we were 'discovered' by Columbus. Tomorrow will be our last post for awhile. Columbus returns to Spain and most of Log posts are about sailing, winds, a leaky ship and the kinds of birds and creatures of the sea that are encountered along the way. There are a couple days that are of interest and those will be posted. But, as tomorrow is our last day, we would greatly appreciate it if you would share with us something you learned from this effort that you did not know before. And for those of you who stayed with us, our heartfelt thanks.