356 STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF THE 



the bottom of the bay of Guanipa, and thence to enter the 

 mouth of some one of those rivers, which John Douglas had 

 last discovered, and had with us for pilot an Indian of Barema, 

 a river to the south of Orinoko, between that and Amazons, 

 whose canoes we had formerly taken as he was going from 

 the said Barema laden with cassavi bread to sell at Margue- 

 rita. This Arwacan promised to bring me into the great river 

 of Orinoko, but indeed of that which we entered we was ut- 

 terly ignorant. 



*' But thus it chanced, that entering into a river, (which, 

 because it had no name, we called the river of the Red-cross, 

 ourselves being the first Christians that ever came therein) the 

 22d of May, as we were rowing up the same, we espied a 

 small canoe with three Indians, which (by the swiftness of my 

 barge, rowing with eight oars) I overtook ere they could cross 

 the river. The rest of the people on the banks shadowed 

 under the thick wood gazed on with a doubtful conceit what 

 might befal those three which we had taken. But when they 

 perceived that we oifered them no violence, neither entered 

 their canoe with any of ours, nor took out of the canoe any of 

 theirs, they then began to show themselves on the bank's side, 

 and offered to traffic with us for such things as they had. And 

 as we drew near they all staid, and we came with our barge to 

 the mouth of a little creek which came from their town into 

 the great river. Those people which dwell in these broken 



