me there was no danger, no canoes ever lost; but that after a little way
out to sea, there was a current, and a wind always one way in the
morning, the other in the afternoon.

This I understand to be no more than the sets of the tide, as going out,
or coming in; but I afterwards understood it was occasioned by the great
draught and reflux of the mighty river Oroonoque; in the mouth of which
river, as I thought afterwards, our island lay; and that this land,
which I perceived to the W. and N.W. was the great island Trinidad, on
the north point of the mouth of the river. I asked Friday a thousand
questions about the country, the inhabitants, the sea, the coast, and
what nations were near: he told me all he knew with the greatest
openness imaginable. I asked him the names of the several nations of his
sort of people, but could get no other name than Caribs; from whence I
easily understood, that these were the Caribees, which our maps place on
that part of America which reaches from the mouth of the river Oroonoque
to Guinea, and onwards to St. Martha. He told me, that up a great way
beyond the moon, that was, beyond the setting of the moon, which must be
W. from their country, there dwelt white-bearded men, like me, and
pointed to my great whiskers, which I mentioned before; and that they
had killed much mans, that was his word: by which I understood he meant
the Spaniards, whose cruelties in America had been spread over the whole
countries, and were remembered by all the nations from father to son.

I inquired if he could tell me how I might come from this island, and
get among those white men; he told me, Yes, yes, I might go in two
canoe; I could not understand what he meant by two canoe; till at last,
with great difficulty, I found he meant, that it must be in a large
great boat as big as two canoes.