As we were about to go ashore we saw two pirogues sailing along the coast. The captain hailed them with a second burst of cannon fire, and though we hoisted the Spanish colors they drew near defiantly. Their pirogues, like all those used by Indians, were cut from one tree trunk. In each canoe there were eighteen Guaiqueri Indians, naked to the waist and very tall. They looked very muscular, with a skin color between brown and coppery red. From afar, sitting still and standing out against the horizon, they could be taken for bronze statues. Their appearance did not correspond with the traits and extreme weakness described by previous travelers.