4000003870

· R~yal

Commentaries.

BooK

VIII.

faw her, he fell into a great laughter, crying out,

Hnayru,

H11ayrH,

HJtayrit

which

is a Nation the mofi bafe and

contemp~ble

of all the

Indians :

With

whlch

the

lndi.an

Woman was greatly a

fhame

d, being laughed

by the people who in

gre

at Numbers were

ays

ab.cu~

ch~ Parr~t,

hearing

him

talk;

and

~hen

fhe

came near he

called

Cupay,

whI

Devil ; the

Indians

which

were by

a _

proved the Saying of the Parrot, for they knew that fhe

was

an ordinary

W~mfn

difguifed in the Habit of

Palla,

or great Lady.

Some few years

pafl:

Sevil,

there was another Parrot of this kind

which

did

mofi

horribly abufe

certain Phyfician, though unworthy of that

na~~

be–

ing a mere Qg_ack, as he

pa!fed

the Streets; which he did fo fcurriloully

and fo

much to the purpofe, that the Dotter took it

ill,

and

was

really offended .

Whereupon the

J ufiice c

ommanded the Maller not to fer tbe Parrot

any

the Street, upon

penal.ty

of forfei.ting it to the next

pe~fon

offended at

his

prate.

The generJl word whICh che

lndums

for

Parrots,

Vritu;

and when they

hear

Man talk much, and obfireperoufly, with much noife, they call

him

Vri–

tH,

for

the noife

and

chat which the Parrots make

when

they fly

great flocks,

like the prate of a vain-talking fellow, who,

the

Divine

Ariofto

fays

his

twenty

fifth

Canto,

Knows little, and talk! much.

Thefe Parrots

at) the feafon of the year,

when

the

Corn

ripe,

ouc

from the

Antu,

to feek their food ; and being in great flocks, they

poil

the

Mayz,

or.Corn, wherefoever they

ali~ht;

they are very firong upon the

Wing,

and

fly

high :

but the

GuacamacM

bemg

a dull and heavy fort of

Bird,

not

out from the

Antis :

And

all

thefe different

forts

of Parrots keep to their

own

kind ;

make the

Proverb

true, that

Birds of a

Ff1tther

flock._ together.

CH AP.

XXII.

the four

famo~

Rivers, and

the Fijb

which

tal<._en

thofe

whieb

belong

Peru.

Had

almoft forgot

give

Relation

the

Filli

which the

Indians

PerH

have in their fre(h-wacer Riv&s of

PerH;

the which Rivers are many, and

very great, of which,

for

brevity fake,

we fhall

onely mention four. The

firft

that great River, which is now called the

Madalena,

falling into the Sea

be–

tween

Cartagena,

and

Santa Maria;

the mouth

which, according to the

Sea–

char ,

eight

Leagues

wide, having its head, or fource, from the

high

Mountains

Peru :

The fierce

wifmefs of the current with which

falls

into the

Sea

fuch

that

for

ten

twelve Leagues the forcible fireams are fenfibly

~rceived

reacn into the eas, the fury thereof contending with the Waves of rhe Ocean.

The River

Orellana,

called

by us, being dillinct from the

Madalena ,

is,

accor~

ding to the Sea-charts, about

fifty

four Leagues wide at the mouch of

it,

though

fome Aurhours onely reckon it for thirty, ethers forty, others fevency, making

their account

with

great variety; howfoever, for my part,

I fhall

rather adhere

the opinion of Seamen, who are knov. ing and learned in Maritime affair ,

and

chofe \ hofe buGnefS it is to

fail

over, and meafure the Seas,

and ha

e made

Sea–

charcs and D raughts with

great

Art : the diverfity of the opinions in the

meafures,

is this, becaufe fome meaforing jufi: at the month of the River, from fide to

fide

make

fifty Leagues;

but

fuch as draw their

lines from

the extreme pointS of

Land, which extend into the

Sea,

may meJfure fevenry League , as is \.Vell

knm n

the Pilots. The fource or head of thofe Fountains

\\·hich

make

chis

River,

arifes in the di ilion of

Cuntif

ttyn,

being to the South-Weft of

Co~co,

and dillant

about eleven Leagues

Wdhvard

from thence.

This

River, at the very

head of

it,

very

deep,

and not

fordable,

and

very

fidft

id,

the

fueams

cher~f