Discoveries and Settlements Book I 
Tliefe People, who were very forward and ready to 
traffic with the Englijh^ were of the Town called Caripo, 
on the Eaft Side ot the Hill, • at the Mouth of Wya-poco- 
River. Their King, or Chief, who had been many 
Years in England^ was then with Mr. Harcourt^ and 
another of his Countrymen came Paffenger with him, 
though he had not difcovered his Quality, till the Joy 
of his Subjedts at the Sight of him made him known. 
Among the Indians who came firft on board was one 
who fpoke the EngUflj Tongue perfedlly well, and was 
known to fome of the Ships Companies, having ferved 
Sir John Gilbert in England many Years ; and the Indian 
who accompanied tlie King or Chief, having been four- 
teen Years in England ; thefe two were of fingtilar Ser- 
vice to the Adventurers. 
The lirft Ceremonies being paft, Mr. Harcourt ac- 
quainted them that the Occafion of his coming among 
them was to fettle a Colony there, and to take Poffeffion 
of the Country for the King of England, by virtue of 
their Grant of it to Captain Leigh, and by fome of their 
Countrymen before to Sir Walter Raleigh ; affuring them 
at the fame time, that his Majefty intended no unjuft 
Ufurpation over them, nor to treat them in any way 
like Slaves and Vaflals j but only to be their Friend and 
Protedlor, and to deliver them from the Infolencies and 
Oppreffions of the Carihhees. After fome Debate the In- 
dians gave their Confent that they might live among 
them, and promifed to furniffi them with Houfes, and 
all other Neceffaries, as far as they were able ; but could 
nor forbear expreffing fome Diffidence in their perform- 
ing their Promifes, fince Sir Walter Raleigh had been fo 
dilatory in his accompliffiing thofe he made them. 
This being done they all went affiore, where they met 
with the bell Reception the Indians could give them j 
and were difperfed up and down the Town, on the Side 
of a Hill, while their Ships rode at Anchor at the Foot 
of it. The great Rains, which confined them near a 
Month, being over, the Captain fet himfelf to difcover 
the Golden Mountains, which had been the Spurs to this 
Undertaking •, but their Guide, who had promifed fuch 
great Things, failed in the Performance of them, and 
either had wilfully deceived them, or had been deceived 
himfelf j for when he came to the Spot he had built his 
Hopes upon, nothing was to be found : And yet they 
were convinced the Country afforded Gold, as well by 
the Affurances given them by the Natives, who ffiewed 
them certain Images, which upon an Effay appeared to 
contain at lead one third Gold, as by ocular Demon- 
flration of great Quantities of the white Spar in which 
the Gold is contained, and which they found to hold 
both Gold and Silver ;• but they had Reafon to believe 
thefe Mines were too far up in the higher Parts of Guia- 
na, and perhaps too ftrongly guarded for them to hope 
they ffiouid be able to reach them. And, befides, they 
had then neither Time nor Power to fearch in the Man- 
ner requifite for finding thefe Mines. 
This Difappointment had like to have excited a Mu- 
tiny, among thofe who came out with no other View 
than to tumble at once into Riches j but the Captain, 
with great Prudence and with no lefs Condudt, prevented 
its running fuch a length*, and to keep, them employed, 
not only v/ent himfelf up the River of Wyapoco upon 
Difcovery, ■ but fent his Brother with fome others on the 
fame Errand to the River Arrawary, and the Country 
bordering upon it, which adjoins to the River of Ama- 
zons. He went alfo and took Poffeffion of the Moun- 
tain Gomoriho, which is the utmoft Point of Land to the 
Northward in the V/yapoco. This he did, according to 
Cuftom, by the Ceremony of Twig and Turf, in the 
Prefence both of his own People and the Indians. After 
Poffeffion taken, the Mountain was delivered over to an 
Indian, to hold and poffefs the fame for himfelf and his 
Heirs, of his Majeffy James King of England, paying 
the yearly Duty of a tenth Part of the Tobacco, Cotton, 
Wood, Annotto, and ail other Commodities growing 
within the Limits of the fame. The Attempt of the 
Captain’s Brother, and Captain Harvey, in Difcovery of 
the River Arrawary, was attended with great Difficulties 
and Hazards , for the length they run by Sea to this 
% 
River was near orie hundred Leagues, through, terrible 
Breaks of Flats and Sholes. They went likewife fifty 
Leagues up the RWer, and all this only with fiat-bot- 
tom’d Canoes, fomething longer than the common 
Ihames Wherries,, but not fo broad. 
The Indians they met with in this River plainly diff 
Covered they had never feen any Europeans before. It 
was long before they could be brought to any fort of 
Trade or Converfation with them, though they had 
other Indians in their Company ; But at iaft the Sight of 
their Toys wrought upon them, and induced them to ex- 
cnange for Provffions ; a Want of which however at iaft 
obliged them to return to Wyapoco. They took Poffef- 
fion neverthelefs of the Country in Form, as Mr. Har- 
court had done of Gomoriho. Not long after this, Mr. 
Harcourt w’as obliged to return for England, purely for 
fear ot vranting Caflcs to contain fufficient Beer and Wa- 
ter for the Voyage, the Mafter having negledled to have 
liis Calks Iron-bound before their Departure, which oc- 
cafioned many of them to burft their Hoops in that hot 
Country. 
Mr. Harcourt left his Brother to command in chief in 
his Abfence, to whom Captain Harvey was joined as Af- 
fiftant, and Mr. Gifford as his Lieutenant, and with 
them he left fifty or fixty of his Men. He departed the 
Auguft', and Mr. Harcourt, in his Way home- 
wards, made feveral Difcoveries upon the Coaft, and in 
fome of the Rivers; returned to Ireland the 29th of 
November ; and came from thence to England. Being 
come to London, by the Favour of Prince Henry, he 
obtained a large Patent for all that Coaft, called Guiana, 
together with the famous River of Amazons, to him and 
his Heirs : But he was involved in fo many Troubles, 
that he was not able to fupply his Colony, and only fent 
over fome few People, with eighteen Dutchmen, but to 
little Purpofe. Captain Harcourt, however, kept Pof- 
feffion of that Part of the Country in which he was 
fettled for full three Years, in all which Time he loft but 
fix of his People. 
The Reader will obferve, that we have now brought 
down the Hiftory of our Expeditions to Guiana from 
1595 to 1612, which is within five Years of Sir Walter 
RaleigF?, Iaft Embarkation. It is however certain, that 
fome other Voyages had been made to this Country : 
For Sir Walter Raleigh, in his Apology, fays, 
that the Spaniards at St. LhomaAs had, fome Years 
before his Iaft Attempt, murdered many Englijh, under 
pretence of trading with them, and fome of thofe who 
were thus murdered he mentions by Name. He had 
fuffered a very long Imprifonment in the Tower of 
London, when, by the Help of many Friends, and per-^ 
haps by the laying out of a great deal of Money, he pro- 
cured his Liberty, and therewith a Commiffion to exe- 
cute his Iaft Expedition to Guiana. In order to this, he 
turned into Money the beft part of his own Fortune, 
which he employed in fitting out Ships for this Service. 
He engaged many of his beft Friends to do the fame 5 
and embarked feveral of them, and his own eldeft Son, 
on board the Fleet ; and all this from a Perfuafion that 
the Country he was going to was very rich in Gold, and 
if they could gain Poffeffion of it, would make all their 
Fortunes. 
The famous Count Gondomar, who was then tht Spanijb 
Embaffador here, and, as all the World knows, had a 
great Influence over King James, did all that lay in 
his Power to hinder this Expedition; and as he did not 
fucceed therein, it very plainly proves that King James 
did not credit what he fuggefted to the 'Prejudice of Sir 
Walter Raleigh. And indeed what he gave out upon this 
Subjeft, of Sir Walters having no Intention to make 
either Difcovery or Settlement, but merely to engage in 
a piratical Attempt upon the Spanijh Colonies in Ameri- 
ca, was abfurd and ridiculous, fince no Man had ever a 
meaner Opinion of fuch Exploits, or had fo fully ex- 
pofed the Folly of hoping for great Riches from the 
Plunder of Spanijh Towns, than Sir Walter had done. 
But in all Probability the Spanijh Minifter had not 
fo much in view the making thefe Suggeftions of his 
pafs for Truth, as obtaining, by this Means, under Co- 
lour 
