The Discovery of Guiana | Page 8

causes. The one was
to be revenged of Berreo, who the year before, 1594, had betrayed eight
of Captain Whiddon's men, and took them while he departed from them
to seek the Edward Bonaventure, which arrived at Trinidad the day
before from the East Indies: in whose absence Berreo sent a canoa
aboard the pinnace only with Indians and dogs inviting the company to
go with them into the woods to kill a deer. Who like wise men, in the

absence of their captain followed the Indians, but were no sooner one
arquebus shot from the shore, but Berreo's soldiers lying in ambush had
them all, notwithstanding that he had given his word to Captain
Whiddon that they should take water and wood safely. The other cause
of my stay was, for that by discourse with the Spaniards I daily learned
more and more of Guiana, of the rivers and passages, and of the
enterprise of Berreo, by what means or fault he failed, and how he
meant to prosecute the same.
While we thus spent the time I was assured by another cacique of the
north side of the island, that Berreo had sent to Margarita and Cumana
for soldiers, meaning to have given me a cassado (blow) at parting, if it
had been possible. For although he had given order through all the
island that no Indian should come aboard to trade with me upon pain of
hanging and quartering (having executed two of them for the same,
which I afterwards found), yet every night there came some with most
lamentable complaints of his cruelty: how he had divided the island and
given to every soldier a part; that he made the ancient caciques, which
were lords of the country, to be their slaves; that he kept them in chains,
and dropped their naked bodies with burning bacon, and such other
torments, which I found afterwards to be true. For in the city, after I
entered the same, there were five of the lords or little kings, which they
call caciques in the West Indies, in one chain, almost dead of famine,
and wasted with torments. These are called in their own language
acarewana, and now of late since English, French, and Spanish, are
come among them, they call themselves captains, because they perceive
that the chiefest of every ship is called by that name. Those five
captains in the chain were called Wannawanare, Carroaori, Maquarima,
Tarroopanama, and Aterima. So as both to be revenged of the former
wrong, as also considering that to enter Guiana by small boats, to
depart 400 or 500 miles from my ships, and to leave a garrison in my
back interested in the same enterprise, who also daily expected supplies
out of Spain, I should have savoured very much of the ass; and
therefore taking a time of most advantage, I set upon the Corps du
garde in the evening, and having put them to the sword, sent Captain
Caulfield onwards with sixty soldiers, and myself followed with forty
more, and so took their new city, which they called St. Joseph, by break

of day. They abode not any fight after a few shot, and all being
dismissed, but only Berreo and his companion (the Portuguese captain
Alvaro Jorge), I brought them with me aboard, and at the instance of
the Indians I set their new city of St. Joseph on fire. The same day
arrived Captain George Gifford with your lordship's ship, and Captain
Keymis, whom I lost on the coast of Spain, with the galego, and in
them divers gentlemen and others, which to our little army was a great
comfort and supply.
We then hasted away towards our purposed discovery, and first I called
all the captains of the island together that were enemies to the
Spaniards; for there were some which Berreo had brought out of other
countries, and planted there to eat out and waste those that were natural
of the place. And by my Indian interpreter, which I carried out of
England, I made them understand that I was the servant of a queen who
was the great cacique of the north, and a virgin, and had more caciqui
under her than there were trees in that island; that she was an enemy to
the Castellani in respect of their tyranny and oppression, and that she
delivered all such nations about her, as were by them oppressed; and
having freed all the coast of the northern world from their servitude,
had sent me to free them also, and withal to defend the country of
Guiana from their invasion and conquest. I shewed them her Majesty's
picture, which they so admired and honoured, as it had been easy to
have brought them idolatrous thereof. The like and a more