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It was not until the rain-clouds had all passed by that the padre chose to embark. The wind was still high, and our frail canoes were roughly cradled on the river's turbulent bosom. Padre Felipe, Barbara, and I, with two Indians, filled the smaller of the two piraguas; the other held five Indians and a store of provisions for the journey.
From Cruces to Panama the distance is five leagues, over a broken and hilly country. The town is situated at the head of the gulf, on a neck of land washed by the waters of the Pacific; but the port is only accessible to flat-bottomed boats, owing to which it is called Las Piraguas.
Although above six thousand Indians, with great numbers of canoes, were seen posted on the opposite side of the river, it was deemed necessary to get across in search of provisions, for which purpose two large piraguas were ordered to be built.
Our pilot advised us to land about three hours before day, when we should be in good time for the plantations. Accordingly, I went at two in the morning in our own boat, the two lieutenants being in the two piraguas, and left my son with a few hands to take care of the ship.
As it was found impossible to cross over in the face of so large a force of Indians in the ordinary manner, two very large piraguas were privately built in the woods, which were got ready in twelve days, and were then drawn out of the wood on rollers by the Spaniards with the assistance of their horses and mules.
He raised his telescope to continue his observation of the buccaneers. He saw that the piraguas towed by each vessel were being warped alongside, and he wondered a little what this manoeuver might portend. Awhile those piraguas were hidden from view behind the hulls. Then one by one they reappeared, rowing round and away from the ships, and each boat, he observed, was crowded with armed men.
Most of the Spaniards were wounded while on the water, as the Indians continually shot their arrows against them unopposed. One of the piraguas got straight across to the landing, but the other was forced some way down by the current, and had to be towed up.
These piraguas were so large as to contain an hundred and fifty foot and thirty cavalry, all of whom embarked in sight of the Indians, and plied up and down the river with sails and oars; and the Indians were so astonished and intimidated by the sight of such huge floating machines, that they abandoned the opposite bank of the river and dispersed.
There was a fight in the Windward Passage at the outset with a Spanish galleon, which had resulted in the gutting and finally the sinking of the Spaniard. There was a daring raid effected by means of several appropriated piraguas upon a Spanish pearl fleet in the Rio de la Hacha, from which they had taken a particularly rich haul of pearls.
The largest of their canoes, or "piráguas," could contain from 40 to 50 men, and served for purposes of war, but the majority of their canoes were of small size used in navigating the coast and rivers. There being no mammals in the island, they knew not the use of flesh for food, but they had abundance of fish, and they ate besides whatever creeping or crawling thing they happened to find.
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