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After careful investigation they finally learned that five caciques had fixed a day for the massacre of Christians. These five were: Abibaiba, who lived in the swampy forest; Zemaco, who had been driven from his home; Abraibes and Abenamacheios, the river chiefs; and Dobaiba, the cacique of the fishermen, living at the extremity of the gulf called Culata.
Some few days later Abraibes, sympathising with his relative and neighbour Abenamacheios, who had been driven from his house and had had his arm cut off by one of our foot-soldiers, gave the latter refuge in his house, after which he sought out Abibaiba, the cacique who lived in a tree.
Fifteen miles from its mouth they found a village composed of five hundred scattered houses, of which the chebi or cacique was called Abenamacheios. All the houses were abandoned as soon as the Spaniards approached; and while they were pursuing the natives the latter suddenly turned, faced them, and threw themselves upon our soldiers with the desperation of men driven from their homes.
Let us then unite our forces and try to struggle against those who have maltreated Abenamacheios and driven him from his house, and when these first are killed the others will fear to attack us, or if they do so, it will be with diminished numbers, and in any case it will be more endurable for us."
They fought with wooden swords, sticks with hardened points and sharp javelins, but not with arrows; for the river population of the west side of the gulf do not use arrows in fighting. These poor creatures, being, in fact, naked, were easily cut to pieces, and in the pursuit, the cacique Abenamacheios and some of his principal chiefs were captured.
Is it not better to die than to submit to such abuse as you have endured from them? And not only you, but our neighbours Abenamacheios, Zemaco, Careca, Poncha, and all the other caciques our friends? They carry off our wives and sons into captivity before our very eyes, and they seize everything we possess as though it were their booty. Shall we endure this?
While these things were happening on the banks of this river, an officer named Raia, whom Vasco Nuñez and Colmenares had left in charge of the camp at Rio Negro in the territory of the cacique Abenamacheios, driven either by hunger or fatality ventured to explore the neighbourhood with nine of his companions.