THE governor ordered several sign-posts to be made at the mouth of this river of felled trees. He then had three high crosses erected to serve as signs for vessels, in order that they might not mistake the entrance. During three days we advanced by rowing; then we left the river, and ascended two of its arms which have their source in large lagoons.
On the eighth of the month, one hour before daybreak, we arrived at some high and round craggy rocks in the middle of the river. They are bell-shaped, contracting towards the summit. These rocks are completely barren, producing neither tree nor herb. Their colour is red. We believe they contain much metal, because the country beyond the river is mountainous, forested, and clothed with grass; these rocks, on the other hand, have nothing of the kind, an indication that they contain much metal, because, wherever this is found, neither trees nor grasses grow. The Indians told us that, in bygone times, their forefathers obtained white metal here; but as all our people were ill, and as we had no mining nor founder’s tools with us, nor the implements necessary to probe and search for ore, the governor did not cause search to be made for the metal, leaving it for another time when he passed by that way again, for these rocks are near the port of Los Reyes.
Pursuing our voyage up the river, we entered a lagoon upwards of one league and a half in width at its entrance, and, issuing from it by a second mouth, came to the dry land. At ten o’clock in the morning we anchored at the entrance of another lagoon where the Sacosies, Xaqueses, and Chaneses had established their settlements. The governor did not wish to go any further without acquainting the Indians of his arrival. He accordingly sent an interpreter with some Christians in a canoe to speak with them in his name and summon them to an interview. These envoys returned at five o’clock in the evening, and announced that the Indians had come forth to receive them, showing great pleasure, and telling the interpreter that they already knew of their arrival and were desirous of seeing the governor and the Christians. They reported that the waters had fallen a good deal, and by reason of this it had been difficult to take their canoe there; that in order to pass the shallows and arrive at the port of Los Reyes, it would be necessary to lighten the vessels, as the depth was only one span, whereas the draught of the loaded brigantines was five or six. These shallows were near the port of Los Reyes. The following day the governor ordered the departure of the ships and of all the people, Christians and Indians. They rowed till they came to the shallows, when everybody had orders to get into the water, which did not reach to the knee. Then the Indians and Christians ranged themselves round the sides of the brigantine named St. Mark, and pushed with their shoulders, nearly lifting her out of the water by the strength of their arms without unloading her. That shallow was more than an arquebuss shot and a half long, and the difficulty of passing it was very great. When this was over, the other brigantines were passed in the same way with less trouble, because they were smaller. Having floated them into deep water we disembarked at Los Reyes, where we found a great assemblage of natives with their wives and children waiting for us. The governor and all his people landed, and the natives came towards them. He told them that he had been sent by His Majesty to warn them to be Christians and receive the Christian doctrine, to believe in God the creator of heaven and earth, and to be the vassals of the king. If they did this they would be protected and defended against their enemies and against all who would injure them, and that they would be well treated and looked after in accordance with His Majesty’s orders; if they conducted themselves well he would not fail to give them presents, as he always did to those who were good. He then convoked the clergy and told them he wished a church built where Mass could be said and other divine rites celebrated for an example and comfort to the other Christians; and he charged them to have a special care of these. He ordered a large wooden cross to be erected on the bank of the river, under some tall palms, in the presence of the officers and many others there present. He took formal possession of the country in the name of His Majesty, and in the presence of the notary, as newly discovered land, and, having conciliated the natives by bestowing presents upon them, he ordered the Spaniards and Guaranís to take up their quarters on the shore of the lagoon, cautioning them to do the natives no injury or violence, because they were friendly, and vassals of the king. Moreover, he gave them strict orders not to enter the native settlements and houses, because what the Indians fear and hate most, and what irritates them more than anything, is to see the Christians, accompanied by Indians, entering their houses, disturbing their things, and taking away the few possessions they have. If they trafficked with them, they were to pay for whatever they bought, or they would be punished.
[CHAPTER THE FIFTY-FOURTH.]
How the Indians of the port of Los Reyes cultivate the soil.
THE Indians of this port of Los Reyes are agriculturists, and sow maize and manioc (the cassava of the Indies), and an abundance of mandubies (which are like large filberts). They sow twice a year. The land is fertile, abounding in provisions, game, and fisheries. These Indians rear numbers of geese, as a protection against crickets (as I have described). They also rear fowls, and shut these up at night to protect them from bats, which cut off their combs, and, in this way, cause their death. These bats are an evil kind of animal, and numerous on the banks of the river. They are larger than our doves in Spain, with teeth so sharp that their bite is not felt. They never bite a man except in the toes and the tip of the nose. When several persons are together, and this animal has bitten one, he will not touch the others, but never leaves that one he has attacked. They bite at night, but never appear in the day-time. We had great difficulty in protecting our horses’ ears from them. When a bat enters a stable, the horses become so frightened that they waken all the people in the house, and it is impossible to quiet them till the bat has been killed or driven out. The governor was bitten by one of those animals while he was asleep in a brigantine, one of his feet being uncovered. All night the blood kept on flowing, till he woke from feeling his leg cold, and finding the bed soaked with blood, thought somebody had wounded him; but those on board searched for the place where he was wounded, and, when they found what they knew, by experience, to be the bite of a bat, they laughed. The governor found that a slice of his toe had been bitten off. These bats always bite where there is a vein. They served us a bad trick on one occasion. When we were starting on our voyage of exploration we had six pregnant sows, and hoped to rear a race of pigs. When the little pigs were born, and tried to suck their mother, they could not find her teats, because these had been bitten off by the bats; so the young pigs died, and we had to eat the sows, because they were unable to rear their young.
There are other bad animals in this country; these are very large ants of two kinds, red and black. It is most pitiable to see a person who has been stung by either of these ants, for he utters loud cries, and rolls on the ground for twenty-four hours, during which the pain lasts; and there is no remedy for it. There are very many rays in this lagoon, and, if a fisherman happen to tread on one, it bends its body up, and inflicts a smart blow with the tip of its tail, which is about the thickness of a finger, and has a saw-like edge. This fish is about the size of a xeme,[350] and, if the blow it delivers strike the foot, it goes right through, and the pain is as intense as that from the ant-stings; but it may be stopped at once by chewing and applying to the wound a certain weed the Indians know of. This takes the pain away completely, though the wound does not heal for a month.