A.D. THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



^595- 



time many barks and shippes set out, and perchance other 



nations would also have gotten of ours for pilots ; so as 

 both our selves might have beene prevented, and all our 

 care taken for good usage of the people bene utterly lost, 

 by those that onely respect present profit, and such 

 violence or insolence offered, as the nations which are 

 borderers would have changed their desire of our love and 

 defence into hatred and violence. And for any longer 

 stay to have brought a more quantity (which I heare hath 

 beene often objected) whosoever had seene or proved the 

 fury of that river after it beganne to arise, and had bene a 

 moneth and odde dayes, as we were, from hearing ought 

 from our shippes, leaving them meanly manned 400 miles 

 off, would perchance have turned somewhat sooner then 

 we did, if all the mountaines had bene golde, or rich 

 stones. And to say the trueth, all the branches and small 

 rivers which fell into Orenoque were raised with such 

 [III. 647.] speed, as if we waded them over the shooes in the morn- 

 ing outward, we were covered to the shoulders homeward 

 the very same day : and to stay to digge out gold with our 

 nailes, had bene Opus laboris but not Ingenii : such a 

 quantitie as would have served our turnes we could not 

 have had, but a discovery of the Mines to our infinite 

 disadvantage wee had made, and that could have bene the 

 best profite of farther search or stay : for those Mines are 

 not easily broken, nor opened in hast, and I could have 

 returned a good quantitie of gold ready cast, if I had not 

 shot at another marke, then present profit. 



This Arwacan Pilot with the rest, feared that wee would 

 have eaten them, or otherwise have put them to some 

 The Spaniards cruel death (for the Spaniards, to the end that none of the 

 diveluh lies, people in the passage towards Guiana or in Guiana it selfe 

 might come to speach with us, perswaded all the nations, 

 that we were men-eaters, and Canibals) but when the 

 poore men and women had seen us, and that wee gave 

 them meate, and to every one something or other, which 

 was rare and strange to them, they beganne to conceive 

 the deceit and purpose of the Spaniards, who indeed (as 



390 



