447 / 1060
BooKI.
Royal
Commentaries.
confent
they
departed, and landed at a certain Hland, called the Cock Ifland
5
where having
remaim~d
for
feveral
days,
fometimes in hopes, an9 again depreifed
wirh fear as their different Rencounters and Succeifes were prom1fing, or adverfe,
they
beg~n
for
the moft part to defpond, and wifh they
,h~d
never adventured on
the Emerprife; onely the Captains and Commanders remamed
firm
and confiant
to
their
firft
Defign, refolving either
to
overcome , or
dye
in their Enterprife:
With this determination they agreed that
Piyarro
fhould continue
in
the
Iiland,
-and that
Almagr;o
fhould return to
Panama,
to fetch Provifions, and rnote Recruits
5
but many of the Souldiers growing weary and timorous, defired
to
return
with
him;
which
A !magro
refafed to admit, or
to
carry
Letters, left the Souldiers ad–
vifing the dangers and hazards they had fufiained to their Friends at
Panamtt,
fhould bring a Difreputacion and Difcouragement on their whole Defign, which
they had formerly
magnified~
_having cried up the vafi: Treafures of thofe unknown
Countries:
In
purfuit of which the refolute Conftancy which thefe
ChiefS had
··
lhewed enhanfea the efiirnate of thofe hidden Riches.
· But whatever the Captains could doe
to
hinder the Intelligence which the Soul–
diers might give of their Difafiures to
Panamff,
they could not prevent or
difap~
point the Advices, which Men in Dillrefs contrived to fend for their Relief;
for
a certain Perfon, who was a Native of
Truxillo,
and for beiqg of the farpe Coun–
rrey with
Pifarro,
had greater Obligations to follow
th~
Fortune of his Leader,
found out
a
way
to fold up
a
Paper within
a
bottom
of
Cotton Yam, made up
in
the bignefs of an Egg,
in
which Writing
all
the Difaftures, and
ill
Succefi'es of
their adventure were related, being direlted to a certain Friend, fu bfcribed by ma–
ny
of
the
Souldiers, giving
an
account of
fuch as
were dead, and
flain,
and of the
prefent firaits and neceffities they were in, as alfo of their Confinement, not be–
ing faffered
tb
return to
Panama_;
at the
foot
of which
~dvice
,
or
InteUigence
thefe four Verfes were written,
, .
.
I
. ...
='
,, ,
l
:.;
·
Good
Mr.
Governour,
,
t¥e
pray
you coefider,
That there goes
the
Fetcher,
.And here ftays theButcf;er.
/
)