le year in that labyrinth of rivers, ere we had
found any way, either out or in, especially after we were past ebbing
and flowing, which was in four days. For I know all the earth doth not
yield the like confluence of streams and branches, the one crossing
the other so many times, and all so fair and large, and so like one to
another, as no man can tell which to take: and if we went by the sun or
compass, hoping thereby to go directly one way or other, yet that way we
were also carried in a circle amongst multitudes of islands, and every
island so bordered with high trees as no man could see any further than
the breadth of the river, or length of the breach. But this 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 22. of May, as we were rowing up the same, we espied
a small canoa 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 befall those three which we had
taken. But when they perceived that we offered them no violence, neither
entered their canoa with any of ours, nor took out of the canoa 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 stayed; and we came with our barge to the mouth of a
little creek which came from their town into the great river.

As we abode here awhile, our Indian pilot, called Ferdinando, would
needs go ashore to their village to fetch some fruits and to drink of
their artificial wines, and also to see the place and know the lord of
it against another time, and took with him a brother of his which he had
with him in the journey. When they came to the village of these people
the lord of the island offered to lay hands on them, purposing to
have slain them both; yielding for reason that this Indian of ours had
brought a strange nation into their territory to spoil and destroy them.
But the pilot being quick and of a disposed body, slipt their fingers
and ran into the woods, and his brother, being the better footman of the
two, recovered the creek's mouth, where we stayed in our barge, crying
out that his brother was slain. With that we set hands on one of them
that was next us, a