I sent with Iohn Dowglas an old casique of Trinidad for a pilot, who tolde vs that we could not returne againe by the bay or gulfe, but that he knew a by-branch which ran within the land to the Eastward, and that he thought by it we might fall into Capuri, and so returne in foure dayes. Iohn Dowglas searched those riuers, and found foure goodly entrances, whereof the least was as bigge as the Thames at Wolwich; but in the bay thitherward it was shoald, and but sixe foote water: so as we were now without hope of any ship or barke to passe ouer, and therefore resolued to go on with the boats, and the bottome of the Galego, in which we thrust 60 men. In the Lions whelps boat and whery we caried 20. Captaine Calfield in his whery caried ten more, and in my barge other tenne, which made vp a hundred: we had no other meanes but to cary victuall for a moneth in the same, and also to lodge therein as we could, and to boile and dresse our meat. Captaine Gifford had with him master Edward Porter, captaine Eynos, and eight more in his whery, with all their victuall, weapons, and prouisions. Captaine Calfield had with him my cousin Butshead Gorges, and eight more. In the galley, of gentlemen and officers my selfe had captaine Thin, my cousin Iohn Greenuile, my nephew Iohn Gilbert, captaine Whiddon, captaine Keymis, Edward Handcocke, captaine Clarke, lieutenant Hewes, Thomas Vpton, captaine Facy, Ierome Ferrar, Anthony Welles, William Connocke, and aboue fifty more. We could not learne of Berreo any other way to enter but in branches, so farre to wind-ward, as it was impossible for vs to recouer: for wee had as much sea to crosse ouer in our wheries, as betweene Douer and Calais, and in a great billow, the winde and current being both very strong, so as we were driuen to goe in those small boats directly before the winde into the bottome of the bay of Guanipa, and from thence to enter the mouth of some one of those riuers which Iohn Dowglas had last discouered, and had with vs for pilot an Indian of Barema, a riuer to the South
of Orenoque, betweene that and Amazones, whose canoas we had formerly taken as hee was going from the sayd Barema, laden with Cassaui-bread, to sell at Margarita. This Arwacan promised to bring me into the great riuer of Orenoque, but indeed of that which he entred he was vtterly ignorant, for he had not seene it in twelue yeeres before: at which time he was very yoong, and of no iudgement: A wonderfull confluence of streames. and if God had not sent vs another helpe, we might haue wandred a whole yere in that labyrinth of riuers, yer wee had found any way, either out or in, especially after wee were past ebbing and flowing which was in foure dayes, for I know all the earth doeth not yeelde the like confluence of streames and branches, the one crossing the other so many times, and all so faire and large, and so like one to another, as no man can tell which to take: and if wee went by the Sunne or Compasse, hoping thereby to goe directly one way or other, yet that way wee were also caried in a circle amongst multitudes of Islands, and euery Island so bordered with high trees, as no man coulde see any further then the bredth of the riuer, or length of the breach. But this it chanced, that entering into a riuer, (which because it had no name, wee called the riuer of the Red crosse, our selues being the first Christians that euer came therein) the two and twentieth of May, as wee were rowing vp the same, wee espied a small canoa with three Indians, which (by the swiftnesse of my barge, rowing with eight oares) I ouertooke yer they could crosse the riuer, the rest of the people on the banks shadowed vnder the thicke wood, gazed on with a doubtfull conceit what might befall those three which we had taken. But when they perceiued that we offered them no violence, neither entred their canoa with any of ours, nor tooke out of the canoa any of theirs, they then beganne to shew themselues on the banks side, and offered to traffique with vs for such things as they had. And as wee drew neere, they all stayed, and we came with our barge to the mouth of a little creeke which came from their towne into the great riuer.
As we abode there a while, our Indian pilot, called Ferdinando, would needs goe ashore their village to fetch some fruits, and to drinke of their artificiall wines, and also to see the place, and know the lord of it against another time, and tooke with him a brother of his, which hee had with him in the iourney: when they came to the village of these people the lord of the Island
offered to lay hands on them, purposing to haue slaine them both, yeelding for reason that this Indian of ours had brought a strange nation into their territory, to spoile and destroy them. But the pilot being quicke, and of a disposed body, slipt their fingers, and ran into the woods, and his brother being the better footman of the two, recouered the creekes mouth, where we stayed in our barge, crying out that his brother was slaine: with that we set hands on one of them that was next vs, a very olde man, and brought him into the barge, assuring him that if we had not our pilot againe, we would presently cut off his head. This olde man being resolued that he should pay the losse of the other, cried out to those in the woods to saue Ferdinando our pilot: but they followed him notwithstanding, and hunted after him vpon the foot with the Deere-dogges, and with so maine a crie, that all the woods eckoed with the shout they made: but at the last this poore chased Indian recouered the riuer side, and got vpon a tree, and as we were coasting, leaped downe and swamme to the barge halfe dead with feare. But our good happe was, that we kept the other olde Indian which we handfasted to redeeme our pilot withall: for being naturall of those riuers, we assured our selues hee knew the way better then any stranger could. And indeed, but for this chance, I thinke we had neuer found the way either to Guiana, or backe to our ships: for Ferdinando after a few dayes knew nothing at all, nor which way to turne, yea and many times the old man himselfe was in great doubt which riuer to take. Those people which dwell in these broken islands and drowned lands, are generally called Tiuitiuas: there are of them two sorts, the one called Ciawani, and the other Waraweete.
A description of the mighty riuer of Orenoque or Baraquan. The great riuer of Orenoque or Baraquan hath nine branches which fall out on the North side of his owne maine mouth: on the South side it hath seuen other fallings into the sea, so it disemboqueth by sixteene armes in all, betweene Ilands and broken ground, but the Ilands are very great, many of them as bigge as the Isle of Wight, and bigger, and many lesse. From the first branch on the North to the last of the South, it is at least 100 leagues, so as the riuers mouth is 300 miles wide at his entrance into the sea, which I take to be farre bigger then that of Amazones. All those that inhabit in the mouth of this riuer vpon the seuerall North branches, are these Tiuitiuas, of which
there are two chiefe lords which haue continuall warres one with the other. The Ilands which lie on the right hand, are called Pallamos, and the land on the left, Horotomaka, and the riuer by which Iohn Douglas returned within the land from Amana to Capuri, they call Macuri.
What maner of people the Tiuitiuas are. These Tiuitiuas are a very goodly people and very valiant, and haue the most manly speech and most deliberate that euer I heard, of what nation soeuer. In the Summer they haue houses on the ground, as in other places: in the Winter they dwell vpon the trees, where they build very artificiall townes and villages, as it is written in the Spanish story of the West Indies, that those people do in the low lands nere the gulfe of Vraba: for betweene May and September the riuer of Orenoque riseth thirty foot vpright, and then are those ilands ouerflowen twenty foot high aboue the leuell of the ground, sauing some few raised grounds in the middle of them: and for this cause they are inforced to liue in this maner. They neuer eat of any thing that is set or sowen: and as at home they vse neither planting nor other manurance, so when they come abroad, they refuse to feed of ought, but of that which nature without labour bringeth forth. They vse the tops of Palmitos for bread, and kill deere, fish, and porks, for the rest of their sustenance. They haue also many sorts of fruits that grow in the woods, and great variety of birds and fowle.
And if to speake of them were not tedious, and vulgar, surely we saw in those passages of very rare colours and formes, not elsewhere to be found, for as much as I haue either seene or read. Of these people those that dwell vpon the branches of Orenoque, called Capuri and Macureo, are for the most part carpenters of canoas, for they make the most and fairest canoas, and sel them into Guiana for golde, and into Trinidad for tobacco in the excessiue taking whereof, they exceed all nations: and not withstanding the moistnesse of the aire in which they liue, the hardnesse of their diet, and the great labours they suffer to hunt, fish and fowle for their liuing in all my life, either in the Indies or in Europe, did I neuer behold a more goodly or better fauoured people or a more manly. They were woont to make warre vpon all nations, especially on the Canibals, so as none durst without a good strength trade by those riuers: but of late they are at peace with their neighbours, all holding the Spaniards
for a common enemy. When their commanders die, they vse great lamentation, and when they thinke the flesh of their bodies is petrified, and fallen from the bones, then they take vp the carcase againe, and hang it in the caciques house that died, and decke his scull with feathers of all colours, and hang all his golde plates about the bones of his armes, thighs, and legs. Those nations which are called Arwacas, which dwell on the South of Orenoque, (of which place and nation our Indian pilot was) are dispersed in many other places, and doe vse to beat the bones of their lords into powder, and their wiues and friends drinke it all in their seuerall sorts of drinks.
After we departed from the port of these Ciawani, wee passed vp the riuer with the flood, and ankered the ebbe, and in this sort we went onward. The third day that we entred the riuer, our galley came on ground, and stucke so fast, as we thought that euen there our discouery had ended, and that we must haue left fourescore and ten of our men to haue inhabited like rooks vpon trees with those nations: but the next morning, after we had cast out all her ballast, with tugging and halling to and fro, we got her aflote, and went on. At foure dayes end wee fell into as goodly a riuer as euer I beheld, which was called The great Amana, which ranne more directly without windings and turnings then the other: but soone after the flood of the sea left vs; and being inforced either by maine strength to row against a violent current, or to returne as wise as we went out, we had then no shift but to perswade the companies that it was but two or three dayes worke, and therefore desired them to take paines, euery gentleman and others taking their turnes to row, and to spell one the other at the houres end. Euery day we passed by goodly branches of riuers, some falling from the West, others from the East into Amana, but those I leaue to the description in the Cart of discouery, where euery one shalbe named with his rising and descent. When three dayes more were ouergone, our companies began to despaire, the weather being extreame hote, the riuer bordered with very high trees, that kept away the aire, and the current against vs euery day stronger then other: but we euermore commanded our pilots to promise an ende the next day, and vsed it so long, as we were driuen to assure them from foure reaches of the riuer to three, and so to two, and so to the next reach: but so long we laboured, that many dayes were spent, and wee driuen to drawe our selues to