She tied it about her
head, and the bright ends fell down beside her long, black,
braided hair. None touched her, but they were woman-
starved, and they looked at her hungrily. She had beauty
in her way, and a kind of innocence both frank and shy.
She was like a doe in the green forest, come silently upon
at dawn.
Fed full of marvel at last, these Indians left us. But
no sooner had they reached land and told of great kindness
on the part of the inhabitants of heaven than other canoes
and other swimmers put forth. This might go on all day,
so we checked it by ourselves going ashore.
This day we filled our water casks and took aboard much
fruit and all the cakes that they brought us. Moreover
we explored the island, finding two villages of a piece with
the first, and in the middle land a fair pool of water. This
day like yesterday was blissful wine.
All blessed Christopherus Columbus. No man now but,
for a while, did his bidding with an open heart.
In the morning we sailed away, not without plentiful
promises of return. When we put up our white sails they
cried out and pointed to the cloud sierra. No! We would
not go back to heaven--or if we did so we would come
again, loving so our gentle friends upon earth! We sailed,
and in all our after wanderings we never came back to this
island. And never again, I think, while Columbus voyaged,
did there come to us just the bright, exquisite thrill of that
first land after long doubt and no land.
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