AJ-095: Ponce de León, Voyages to Florida (1513)

              17
they made ready one ship to cross the windward gulf of
the islands of the Lucayos. This island Quanahani was the
first that the admiral Don Christoval Colon discovered, and
where, in his first voyage, he went ashore and named it San
Salvador. They set out from here, running Northwest, and on
Sunday, the 27th, which was the day of the Feast of the
Resurrection, which commonly they call [the feast] `of
Flowers', they saw an island but did not examine it. And
Monday, the 28th, they ran fifteen leagues in the same
direction, and Wednesday went on in the same manner, and
afterward, with bad weather, until the 2nd of April, running
WestNorthwest, the water diminishing to nine fathoms, at one
league from land, which was in thirty degrees and eight
minutes [latitude], they ran along beside -the coast seeking
harbor, and at night anchored near the land in eight fathoms
of water. And believing that this land was an island, they
named it La Florida, because it had a very beautiful view of
many and cool woodlands, and it was level and uniform; and
because, I moreover, they discovered it in the time of the
Feast of Flowers [Pascua Florida], Juan Ponce wished to
conform in the name to these two reasons. He went ashore to
get information, and take possession. On Friday, the 8th,
they set sail, running in the same direction: and Saturday
they sailed to the South a quarter by Southeast; and keeping
the same coui~se until the 24th of April, they discovered
some huts of Indians, where they anchored: the day
following, all three vessels following the seacoast, they
saw such a current that, although they had a strong wind,
they could not go forward, but rather backward, and it
seemed that they were going on well; and finally it was seen
that the current was so great it was more powerful than the
wind. The two vessels that found