After A March Of Fifty
Leagues Along The Banks Of This River, The Spaniards Could Find No Place
Where They Might Possibly Cross Over, Except At That Narrow Rocky Channel,
Where A Considerable Number Of Indians Opposed Their Passage.
Having
driven away these Indians by means of their firearms, the Spaniards
constructed a wooden bridge across between the steep rocks, over which
they all passed in safety.
After crossing the river, the Spaniards penetrated through the woods to a
country named Guema, which was extremely flat and intersected with rivers
and marshes, and in which they could get no provisions except wild fruits;
but after this they came to a country tolerably peopled, in which there
were some provisions. In this place the natives wore cotton vestments, but
in the whole country through which they had hitherto passed, the few
natives they had seen were entirely naked, either on account of the
continual and excessive heat of the climate, or because they had no means
of procuring clothes: The men had only a kind of girdles round their waist,
with some strings tied to their prepuce, which passed between their thighs
and were drawn up to the girdle; and the women wore some slight clouts. At
this place Gonzalo built a bark to serve for crossing the rivers in search
of provisions, and to transport the baggage and the sick by water. Besides
in some places the country was so covered with wood, that they were unable
to clear the way by means of their swords and hatchets, and in other
places so inundated, that they were often obliged to transport the whole
party by water. The building of this vessel occasioned infinite difficulty
and labour, as besides cutting down wood for the purpose, they had to
construct a forge in which to make the necessary iron work, which they
made from the shoes of their dead horses. On this occasion, Gonzalo not
only obliged every one to labour without regard to rank, but gave the
example himself in using both the hatchet and the hammer as occasion
required. Instead of pitch and tar, the gum which exuded from some trees
of the forest was collected; and instead of flax and hemp, the old clothes
of the Indians and the wore-out shirts of the Spaniards were employed for
caulking the scams. They at length succeeded in making their bark capable
of swimming, so as to transport all their baggage very commodiously;
besides which they hollowed out several canoes to accompany the bark
instead of boats.
Gonzalo flattered himself that all his difficulties would be surmounted by
means of this bark, and that he would now be able to pursue his
discoveries to any extent he pleased. He continued his march therefore,
accompanied by the bark which carried the baggage, while the main body had
to travel along the banks of the river, often greatly incommoded in
passing marshes, thick woods, and close brushwood. In some of these places
they had to cut their way through canes and reeds with great toil, by
means of their swords and hatchets; often changing from one side of the
river to the other in search of an easier road.
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