A.D. THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



1595. 



they have Christened, and named Don Juan, of whom 



they have great hope, endevouring by all meanes to 



establish him in the sayd province. Among many other 



trades, those Spaniards used canoas to passe to the 



Some/ewe rivers of Barema, Pawroma, & Dissequebe, which are 



Spaniards are ^^ ^j^^ g^^^^j^ g- j^ ^^ ^^^ mouth of Orenoque, and there 



Tiozv seated tti • t. ^ 



Dissequebe. ^^7 women and children from the Canibals, which are 



of that barbarous nature, as they will for three or foure 

 hatchets sell the sonnes and daughters of their owne 

 brethren and sisters, and for somewhat more, even their 

 owne daughters. Hereof the Spaniards make great 

 profit : for buying a maid of twelve or thirteene yeres 

 for three or foure hatchets, they sell them againe at 

 Margarita in the West Indies for fifty and an hundred 

 pezos, which is so many crownes. 



The master of my shippe, John Dowglas, tooke one 

 of the canoas which came laden from thence with people 

 to be solde, and the most of them escaped ; yet of 

 those he brought, there was one as well favoured, and 

 as well shaped as ever I saw any in England, and after- 

 ward I saw many of them, which but for their tawnie 

 colour may be compared to any of Europe. They also 

 trade in those rivers for bread of Cassavi, of which 

 they buy an hundred pound weight for a knife, and 

 sell it at Margarita for ten pezos. They also recover 

 great store of Cotton, Brasill wood, and those beds 

 which they call Hamacas or Brasill beds, wherein in 

 hot countreyes all the Spaniards use to lie commonly, 

 and in no other, neither did we our selves while we 

 were there. By meanes of which trades, for ransome 

 of divers of the Guianians, and for exchange of hatchets 

 and knives, Berreo recovered some store of golde plates, 

 eagles of golde, and images of men and divers birdes, 

 and dispatched his campe-master for Spaine, with all 

 that hee had gathered, therewith to levie souldiers, and 

 by the shew thereof to draw others to the love of the 

 enterprise. And having sent divers images aswell of 

 men as beasts, birds & fishes, so curiously wrought 



376 



