Steampunk and Francisco de Orellana Amazon expedition

Hi,

This is a fast update what my next projects may be. I have a long time wanted to do something for the genre Steampunk. I really like the artist Keith Thompson take on it. Steampunk art combines Victorian age aesthetics with industrial and fantastic mechanical technology. There are people of the steampunk subculture that creates the most cool looking (useless) devices ever. The best part is that the devices are made from all kind of old junk these artists find. 

Below is a link for more pictures:
Google picture search "Steampunk"

Yesterday I read about Francisco de Orellana's expedition down the Amazon river. The short story is that in 1541 the Spaniards led by Gonzalo Pizarro and his second in command Francisco de Orellana went out to search for the legendary "Land of Cinnamon"  and cities of gold . They started from what is today Peru and through the Andes eastward. Depending on sources they had 220-350 Spaniards, 150 horses and 4000 natives, and a large pig herd for food, when they started. After almost a year navigating through the Andes they arrived to one of Amazon's side rivers Napo. Most of the animals and Indians had either died or deserted during this time. Now their main objective was to stay alive. So Pizarro ordered Oreallana to go downstream for search of food with 56 men. Oreallana and his men never returned to Pizzaro but continued on the Amazon all the way to the mouth of the Amazon. During their voyage they clashed with local Indians many times, on one occasion they even fought a tribe led by women warriors. The Spaniards also committed atrocities like burning and slaying whole villages on the way. Pizarro returned to Quinto with 86 men and lost his position with the king. Oreallano enamoured the Spanish court with his tales and led a new expedition to the Amazon to fortify Spanish claim of the lands. The second expedition also ended in disaster with Orellano's death 1546. Later on Spain lost New Andalusia to the Portuguese what became Brazil. 

I was quite inspired by this tale of big hopes and the following complete and utter disaster. I am thinking about a picture of an encounter on the river with the ragtag Spaniards in their boat and hundreds of Indians on small rafts throwing spears, stones  and whatever at the already defeated explorers that discovers that their gunpowder is wet. My objective is not to romanticize or glorify what happened, but try to do a snapshot of an intensive situation and what may have happened, a bit like the beach landing in Saving Private Ryan. 

I will probaly update again later this week with sketches as for now I must concentrate on my exams. Until later.