But seeing
that we did not wish to fight, they did not wish to fight either;
and there was all the old amaze.
Gods--gods--gods! We sought the Earthly Paradise,
and they thought we came therefrom.
Paria. We made out that they called their country Paria.
They had in their canoes a bread like cassava, but more
delicate, we thought, and in calabashes almost a true wine.
We gave them toys, and as they always pointed westward
and seemed to signify that there was _the_ land, we returned
after two hours to the ships and set ourselves to follow the
coast. Two or three of this people would go with the
gods.
We came to that river mouth that troubled all this sea.
What shall I say but that it was itself a sea, a green sea,
a fresh sea? We crossed it with long labor. The men of
Paria made us understand that their season of rain was
lately over, and that ever after that was more river. Whence
did it come? They spoke at length and, Christopherus Columbus
was certain, of some heavenly country.
The dawn came up sweet and red. The country before us
had hills and we made out clearings in the monster forest,
and now the blue water was thronged with canoes. We
anchored; they shot out to us fearlessly. The Jamaica canoe
is larger and better than the Haytien, but those of this
land surpass the Jamaican. They are long and wide and
have in the middle a light cabin.
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