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BooK
III.
Royal Commentaries.
·e
HA P.
IV.
Fráncifco
de
Órellan~
goés
abóard
the Ve/fel
which was
1
built, and fails into
Spain,
to demand the Goverizmeni
of that Conquefl
;
and of hi-5 End and Death.
A
LL
the .Gold which they had gathered, whlch amounted to about the va~
lue of one hundred choufand Pieées-of Eight, with a great abundance of
Emeralds, fome oLwhich were of great value, ras alfo-their Iron and IrorJ-work,
and whatfoever was of any eíleem, they laded on their Ve'ífel, and fuch as were
weak, and fick, and n0t able to cravel, were alfo pfit aboard. ·And now afrer
a
Journey of almoíl: two hundred Leagues, they depaned-from this place, taking
their
cour[e
down the Strearn, fome by Water, and othe~ by Land, keeping
fucb a convenient diíl:ance each from the óther, that at night they alwaysjoined
and lodged together; the which Journey was performed with great difficulty,
both of
one>
and of the ocher; for tho[e on the Land were forced to open a great_
pare of their way with Hatchet and Bill, and thofe on the Water were put to
hard Labour to íl:emm the Stream, and keep the Veífel from being forcibly car-
' · ried down by the current fro.m the Company oftheir Aífociates, When at any
time their paífage was interrupced by fome Mquntain , fo that chey could not
keep by the Shore of the River; they then1ferried to che other fide by help of
cheir Veffel , and of four
Canoú,
which were with them; but chis gave a greaé
Jet arid fiop to their proceedings, for the fpace of three or four days, whidi was
,very
grievous.
to
.Men íl:arving
apd
periíhing wi_th Hu!]ger.
.
-
,
.,
Having in rhis manner travell d for che fpace_of two Months,- they at l~ngth
mee with cercain-
Indians,
who by Signs, and by fome Words-which were~imder~
fiood by their
.Jndian
~ervants, gave thetn intelligence, chat abolit- ceh days'Jour~
ney from thence chey would ~nd a Counney w~ll peopled, l>1entifull of Pro–
viGons, and abounding with Gold, and Gther Riches, of which they wer~ in
purfuit; and farcher Ggnified ro them_ by Signs, chat chis Countrey was-ficuace on
the Banks of another great River, wliich joined; and feltinto thé¡.t; wherein they
now were. The
Spaniards
beiag greatly comforced , and encouraged wi~h this–
news,
Gon;:,alo Pifarro
made
Francifco _de
On//a111t.,(;áp~ai_n of hJs Brigantine, or.
Vefiel, and them:in put fifry Sould1ers aboard.; g1vmg them orders to ,pafs
down che Stream
to
that place, where the two Rivers .met
,r
4
nd thac tnere
leaving the Goods he had then aboard, he íhould lade.his Veífel with Provifions,
and remrn to"Yards ~hem with all the [peed imaginable to fucéour , and relieve
them in thac greát Difüefs of ,famine, of which rnany
Spaífiards
were already
dead , and eípecially
Jn'dians,
who of four thoufand were requced to half thé
oom~~
'
.
_
According to the[e Orders
Frt!ncifco de Ore/lana,
encred on che Voyage, and
in ·
the fpace of thrée days, withouc Oars, or Sail, onely by force of che Currenr,
he
W?S
carried che eighty Leagues before mention'ed, though in the opinion of all
they pr,oved to,be more than an hundred; notwithíl:anding which being come
thirher; no Provifions. were found, as the
Indians
had ptomiled; wherefore,con–
fidering what was t0 be done ,in that·Excremity, they concluded, that to returti
again ro
Gon";:,afo Pifllrf'o
with chis ill news, they .were not able in the fpace of
ii
Year
to
perfoi·m ·rhat Voyage báck, againfl che force of thé Stre~m, which they–
had alre_ady with ch.e ryelp therecf been carried
in
three days onely. And not
k~owing in how lotig,,ime
Gon~aloP~v,rro
would bé able to per~orm. bis ~ourney
th1ther,.
Ore/lana
refolved
to
ch¡mge h1s DeGgn, and fet up for h1m[elf; and with
thefe chowghts-he fet fail, and .cafiing off ali care.and regard
to
Pirarro,
and hts
Cornpanions; tlien in difüefsj he refolved to take a Voyage inco
Sfain,
there to
obcain the Governmenc and Conqueít of thofe Cdumries for
Mmfelf:
.Bue this
éruél'