The Indians and the Indies .-- These Indians were not at all like those wonderful people of Cathay and Cipango whom Marco Polo had described.

Instead of wearing clothes of silk and of gold embroidered satin, these people wore no clothes of any kind.

But it was plain enough that the island they had found was not Cipango.

It was probably some island off the coast of Cipango, so on Columbus sailed and discovered Cuba.

He was certain that Cuba was a part of the mainland of Asia, for the Indians kept saying "Cubanaquan." Columbus thought that this was their way of pronouncing Kublai Khan--the name of a mighty eastern ruler.