But neither party saw any friars of the order of Saint Mary.

And it is now supposed that the Spaniard saw a peaceful flock of white cranes.

The traveller Humboldt describes one occasion, in which the town of Angostura was put to alarm by the appearance of a flock of cranes known as soldados, or "soldiers," which were, as people supposed, a band of Indians.
In his interviews with the natives at one point and another, upon the coast, Columbus was delighted with their simplicity, their hospitality, and their kindly dealing with each other.

On one occasion, when the Mass was celebrated, a large number of them were present, and joined in the service, as well as they could, with respect and devotion.

An old man as much as eighty years old, as the Spaniards thought, brought to the Admiral a basket full of fruit, as a present.