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j 139 C H A P T E R S I X T Y- F O U R The Interpreter Comes Back from the Little House The next day, at three in the afternoon, the interpreter and the Indian who had said that he knew the way came back. The Governor welcomed the Indian and spoke happily with him, and he gave him a number of trade goods and trinkets. This pleased the man. The Governor thensaidtotheinterpreter,“Tellthisman—askhim—totruthfullydescribe to me the way to the settled territory of the interior.” But the man said, “It’s been many long days since I’ve traveled that path. However, I still know it, and I’ve walked it many times on my way to Tapuaguazu, where I’ve seen the smoke of the fires burning at the towns in the interior. I used to go to Tapua for arrows, which they have in those parts.” It took many days to make the trip for them, and he could see well before he arrived the rising smoke of the fires lit by the Indians. “When I saw that, I knew the people who used to live in that country had begun to repopulate the place.” They had left the land empty after the last set of wars. “I haven’t dared travel down that old road for fear of the local Indians killing me,” he said. “That path is so closed up now that only by very great effort could a person follow it. It might take sixteen days of cutting trees and clearing off the road again to get to Tapua.” 1 We asked him if he wanted to go along with the Christians to show us the road. “Yes,” he said, though he was very afraid of the Indians of the interior. “I’ll go willingly.” Well, taking into account the tale of this Indian, and the difficulty and inconvenience posed by the path before us, as he told it, the Governor convened a council of Your Majesty’s officials, his clerics, and his captains . “Let’s have your opinion,” he said, “as well as a general discussion 140 j C H A P T E R S I X T Y - F O U R of what should be done regarding our proposed exploration in light of this Indian’s stories.” The assembly said they had noticed that most of the Spaniards lacked provisions: they had not eaten for three days, and they had not dared ask for much of anything due to their earlier disorderly consumption of food rations. “The first of our guides swore to us that we would find a lot to eat on the fifth day of our journey, in a country full of people with abundant provisions. And with this assurance, and believing that it was the truth, both the Christians and the Indians had exercised very little caution and less care regarding the supplies of food they had brought along.” You see, each Christian had with him two arrobas of flour. 2 Seeing as how the remaining provisions would not last six days, and we were well past that, the people now had nothing to eat. It seemed to them a very dangerous business to go on without anything to sustain us, especially as the Indians never told us anything that was certain. It might well be that where the guide said sixteen days it could be many more. We would find ourselves so far along that if we had to turn back we would not be able to do so. Everyone would die of hunger, as had happened so often in the explorations we undertook in all those parts. The Governor’s council thought that, considering the safety and lives of all the Christians and Indians in the party, he would be well advised to turn back to Puerto Reyes, where he had started and where he had left his ships. In Puerto Reyes, the Governor could refit the party and collect new supplies to continue his exploration. That was their opinion, and if need be, they would require it to be followed on behalf of Your Majesty. ...

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