459 / 1060
BooK
I.
[loyal
C01nmentaries.
On
F1:11;fc.lj1;9
Plfarro
~;~Eh h~s fo~r
Brothers,
tog~ther w)t~
his
Men
and
H
o~fe,w(W:h '
€re
as many as h s Ships could
contain, fer Sail from
P.anama,
WJ.thintention
not
to
touch any where llntill they came to the Countrey
1Pf
T11m
p1-~ ;but the Southerly Winds al vays blowing in that Sea, which \\'ere contrary
to
the
ourfe
chey
!leered, they were forced
to
land a hundred Leagues
fhort
of
Tumpk
~
f<
that
fondin,.
their
Ships
back again to
Panama ,
they refolved
to
march all
the
\ ·ay by Land, efl:eeming
It
much
eafier than to cum
to
Windward
for
fo many
Leagues.
But in their
J
urney by Land they fufferecj
mu.chmore than they would have
d ne by the contrary Win
y
Sea ;
for
e
mring into a barren Countrey,
void
of all Victuals and Provilion-, they endured hunger, and want of all things; and
the way being long and tedious , over Mountains and Rock , and their paffage
flopped by \Vide Rivers, they contrived
to
pa!S them with Floats, which they
made of Timber, and Canes, and Ruihes, which they fafrned together, and with
large Goards
which
they bound one
to
the other.
.
The chief Guide and Pilot over chefe Ferries was
Don
Francifco
himfelf, who
was well acquainted, and experienced
in
matters of chis nature ; the which
he
fu–
fiained with fo much courage and patience, that for
better
example tq his Com–
panions, he
J
ould carry the Gck and tired perfons on his own fhoulders over
Brooks
and Fords, which
m~ght
be
waded over.
1
After all thefe difficulties, they came at length
to
that Province which they
call
Coaqui,
where
they
found p
enty
of Provifions, and many Emeralds of the
finell:
fort,
of which they broke many; for being not skilfull Jewellers, they had
an opinion , that the true
Emeralds \ quld
not break, and therefore for a trial
they proved them with Hammers upon the Anvil. The like they afterwards did
in
Tumpiz.,
\vhere
they
broke many Emeralds of three or four
thoufand
Ducats
price: But
not onely
thefe
Spaniards
fell
into
this
errour;>l:mt
like~·i[e
others,
who
.aftenYards
came to this Countrey under the
Command
of the
Lord
Lieutenant
D on Pedro
de
Alvaracb,
who de!hoyed many Emeralds and Turquoi[es of an ine–
frimable
value. But befides
the[e
difafl: ures,
the people of
Pifarro
were affiieted
with a loathfome difeafe, which at
firfr
appeared with a [welling on their Heads
and Faces, like
Vv
arts, and on feveral parts of their
Body ;
but afterwards, when
they
came to a rnamrity, they were of the colour of ripe
Ficrs,
and about the big–
nefs
of them, hanging down
as
it were
by
a fhing,
from
whence great quantities
of bloud iifued;
the
which were not one1y loathfome,but very fore ; and it was
very
ugly
to
behold fuch
filthy
Warts, or W ns, appearing on their Foreheads,
Eye-brows,
ofes
~nd
Ears, for which they knew no
remedy
or cure. But this
difeafe
\Vas
nnt
[o
mortal, but that many
of'
them who \.\ere feized with this di–
fiemper,
re~overed,
though feveral dyed ;- and though the, difeafe was Epidemkal
to the
~anves
of
Peru.,
yet
it
was .not
fo
to the
Spaniards,
many of
wh~c
h efcaped
the
~v11. Ma~y
year after rhat-tttne I
faw
three or four
Spaniards
at
()q
_z.co,
who
lay
ill
of that
d1CT:emper,
but they
recovered ;
and
it
may be attributed
tofome
bad influence
vd1ich
was tranfienr, for fince that time, that ficknefs hath nbt been
know.n.
'vVith
=ill.
thefe
Labours, Difeaf
es,
and Death of his Companions,
D on
Francifco
.was
not
d1finayed,
always
{hewing
himfelf as
forward to adventure him–
frlf
firll:
m dangers, as he was carefull in the cure of hi
riends and Souldiers..
To
Pt1t~ama
he
[ent
twe:iry
f<
ur or
t\Yenty
five thoufand Ducats of Gold
to
fupply
Don D1ego de Almagro
with Money., that
fo
he
mio·ht
be ena led to furnilh thofe
nece!fary
fuccours
of
\·K;hich
they had_occaflon ;
p~rt
of which
Gold
he gained by
War, and part
by
the ranfome of tu h
vd10m
he had taken Captives. Thus
pro..