Piece of torn paper pulled from the sand off the coast of one of the Bahamian islands…

October 12, 1492

The month has passed by as do so many other months: slowly and then feeling like time was moving not at all. I have felt every single rock of the ship, every drop of rain, every single one of those long days. At some point the only drink we had available to us was wine; as the water had gone over. My clothes are clean but sticky and stiff from the salt still remaining in them. With the ship finally anchored, I rushed down the gangplank as did so many others; I almost forgot my zapatos and had to run back to my cabin to retrieve them. It was with a certain joy that I joined some of the other crew members in the little boat that soon trundled us to land.

As we paddle towards the sandy coast, I watch Captain Columbus as he stands in the little boat with his eyes on the coast. He is such a hombre bueno, a good man, spreading the will of the church through all lands. There is even a story that he had an audience with the queen herself! I am in such awe of him and I wonder if any of the other crew members feel the same way. It has been well worth the growling in my stomach and the pains in my extremities to see such a sight, Mon dio has surely blessed us!

…we can see that there are people coming out of the thick lines of trees. They are splendid but wear very little clothes. I must take a second look…they wear golden jewelry in their ears and about their sturdy necks. The men are most magnificent with their muscular pagan bodies…I can only hope that we will get them to repent their heathen ways quickly.

Captain Columbus steps out of the small boat, his hands held high in the air. Soon, we all join him. Several of the indios men join the captain. Up close they are quite frightening with their powerful builds and inquisitive faces. I spot several women behind them, smiling at us from behind their hands, their arms encircled with gold. Their skins are brown as nuts. Suddenly there are words I do not understand and the captain falls to the ground with a spear in his forehead. I get the impression that something grande has just changed and that we must flee….