On Purpose To Enhance
The Value Of Their Gold They Said It Was Gathered A Great Way Off Among
Uncouth
Mountains, and that when they gathered it they did not eat, nor
did they carry their women along with them,
A story similar to which was
told by the people of Hispaniola when it was first discovered.
On Monday the 9th of January the admirals ship and that called Biscaina
went up the river, and the Indians came presently on board to barter away
such things as they had, especially fish, which at certain times of the
year come up these rivers from the sea in such quantities as would seem
incredible to those who had not seen it. They likewise exchanged some gold
for pins, and what they most valued they gave for beads, or hawks-bells.
Next day the other two ships came in, having to wait for the flood, which
does not rise above half a fathom in these parts. As Veragua was famed for
mines and extraordinary wealth, the admirals brother went up the river the
third day after our arrival to the town of Quibio, the king or cacique
of this province; who, hearing of the lieutenants coming, came down the
river in his canoes to meet him. Quibio behaved in a very friendly manner,
and interchanged several articles with the lieutenant, and after a long
discourse they parted in peace. Next day Quibio came on board to visit the
admiral, and having discoursed together about an hour, his men trucked
some gold for bells, and he returned to his own place.
While we lay here as we thought in perfect ease and security, the river of
Belem suddenly swelled on the 24th of January so high, that before we
could get a cable on shore the fury of the water came so impetuously on
the admirals ship that it broke one of her anchors, and drove her with
such force against the Galega as to bring the foremast by the board, and
both ships were carried away foul of each other in the utmost danger of
perishing. Some judged that this sudden and mighty flood had been
occasioned by the heavy rains, which still continued incessantly; but in
that case the river would have swelled gradually and not all of a sudden,
which made us suppose that some extraordinary rain had fallen in the
mountains about 20 leagues up the country, which the admiral called the
mountains of St Christopher. The highest of that range was above the
region of the air in which meteors are bred, as no cloud was ever seen to
rise above, but all floated below its summit; this mountain of St
Christopher looks like a hermitage[13], and lies in the midst of a range
of woody mountains whence we believed that flood came which was so
dangerous to our ships; for had they been carried out to sea they must
have been shattered to pieces, as the wind was then extremely boisterous.
This tempest lasted so long that we had time to refit and caulk the ships;
and the waves broke so furiously on the mouth of the river, that the boats
could not go out to discover along the coast, to learn where the mines lay,
and to seek out for a proper place in which to build a town; for the
admiral had resolved to leave his brother in this place with most of the
men, that they might settle and subdue the country, while he should return
into Spain to send out supplies of men and provisions.
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