_How Francisco de Orellana went down the river until he reached
the Ocean Sea, and of the great sufferings of Gonzalo Pizarro
and his followers from hunger._
Gonzalo Pizarro, having decided to send Francisco de Orellana in the
vessel down the river, ordered him to start at once, and to those who
were to travel with him he repeated the instructions he had given
to Orellana himself. They therefore proceeded down stream, taking
scarcely any provisions with them, and suffered very great hardships,
making their way for days without seeing any inhabitant. At the end
of that time they met with a few and began to talk of returning, but
this seemed an impossible task, for they had traversed more than three
hundred leagues.
Orellana, after stating some excuses, continued his way and discovered
the very wide river Marañón or "_Mar Dulce_" as some call it, with
great provinces and settlements on its banks, so large that they
affirm that in passing continuously down stream for two whole days
they did not come to the end of the populated district. They had some
fights with the Indians, and a few Spaniards were wounded. Father
Gaspar de Caravajal lost an eye. They never found gold or silver, but
some Indians they captured told them that those metals existed in
great quantities in the interior. After passing through still greater
hardships they at length arrived at the Ocean Sea, whence Orellana
went to Spain; and his Majesty granted him that province with the
title of Adelantado.[41] Publishing an account of greater things than
he ever saw, he enlisted many people. With them he entered the mouth
of the great river and died miserably, all his followers being lost as
well.
Let us return to Gonzalo Pizarro who, when he had despatched his
lieutenant-general Francisco de Orellana down the river in the vessel,
as we have related, determined to push forward from that place as
best he could. He had no provisions, nor any knowledge of whither
he might be able to go. There was not even any track to follow. The
heavens poured down water from their clouds in such quantities that
for many days, including nights, the rain never ceased. As for those
swamps we have mentioned, the farther the Spaniards went the more
of them they encountered. To enable them to proceed and bring along
the horses the strongest young men went ahead, opening a road with
axes and wood knives, never ceasing to cut through that dense wild
in such a way that all the camp could pass and journey eastward. As
they were in such an evil land and might not find any village, they
determined to wait and see what the captain Francisco de Orellana
could do for them. Meanwhile, not to die of hunger, they ate some
remaining horses, and dogs, without wasting any of the entrails, skin,
or other parts; for all was food for the Spaniards. At this time they
had come in sight of an island in the river; but facing it, on the
mainland where the Spaniards had to pass, there were great swamps and
bogs which they could not traverse. To arrive at the supposed land of
plenty which Orellana might discover down the river, they would have
to build boats and big rafts near this island, and these must be well
supplied with provisions and fit to receive the remaining horses on
board, and everything else. They could then go down the river without
danger, and in a short time enter the region where they expected to
find settlements so large and well-to-do that the mere mention of
them excites astonishment, though we know positively it is truth, and
rather under than over stated.
Gonzalo Pizarro, finding himself near this island, and not knowing
the kind of road there might be ahead, and considering the want of
provisions from which all the Spaniards were suffering, now ordered
the captain Alonso de Mercadillo to go down the river with a dozen
Spaniards, in some canoes they had, to see if there was any sign of
Francisco de Orellana, and to seek for some fruit or roots by which
the Spaniards might be sustained. Mercadillo was away for eight days,
without finding anything whatever, nor any sign of Indians. Great was
the sorrow of Gonzalo Pizarro and his followers when they heard this.
It seemed as if they were quite lost, for they had nothing to eat
but wild herbs and coarse fruits never before seen or known, and the
horses and dogs; and these on so restricted a dole that rather did it
whet their hunger than relieve their yearning for food.
As they were in such great straits that there seemed no remedy either
by advancing or by going back, Gonzalo Pizarro resolved to send canoes
with other persons, to see if any signs of natives or homesteads
could be found, where they could get food; for if they delayed much
longer they must all inevitably perish. He therefore ordered the
captain Gonzalo Díaz de Pineda to go out and make search with some
others. They embarked in the canoes and went down stream until they
came to another river larger and mightier than the one they had been
navigating, the two becoming one. Here they saw cuts made by wood
knives and swords, showing that Orellana and his companions had been
there. As they were so ravening and wishful to reach some place where
there was food, they considered, on seeing such a large river, that it
would be well to go up it and see what could be found. After having
gone up it for ten leagues, God our Lord was pleased that they should
find many very thick patches of _yuca_,[42] so large that the stems
that came from their roots looked like a small forest. This _yuca_
plantation was due to certain Indians who had previously lived for
some years in that locality. Their neighbours, in a war they waged
upon them, forced them to retire farther inland into the mountains.
Hence these _yucas_ they had planted continued to grow and remain
there as we have described, and afforded no small relief to the
exhausted Spaniards. Those who came in the canoes knew the _yucas_
quite well. So they went down on their knees and gave thanks to God
our Lord for His great mercy. Then they began to pull them up and load
the two canoes, returning with them full to where Gonzalo Pizarro was
waiting, where the Spaniards had already given up all hope of escaping
with their lives. When they saw the canoes and learnt what they
brought, they all wept for joy, saying, "Blessed be the Lord our God
who has thus remembered us," while kneeling on the ground, and turning
their eyes heavenward; thus giving Him thanks for a mercy which they
held to be a very great one.
For twenty-seven days Gonzalo Pizarro had been there with his party,
eating nothing but some horse and dog-flesh with herbs and leaves of
trees. They had also eaten the saddle and stirrup leathers, boiled
in water and afterwards toasted over the ashes. So that we have good
reason for saying that this expedition of discovery had to endure
great hardships and want. The _yucas_ brought in the canoes were
divided out, but they did not wait to wash or clean them, and began to
eat with the earth still sticking to them. And when they all learnt
that the _yuca_ plantations were near, they collected all the canoes
and fastened them securely together with strong cords to cross to the
other side of the river, which was about three cross-bow shots in
width. The surviving horses crossed easily, as the current was not
strong. Then the people, with what baggage remained to them, were
ferried over with much trouble and made their way to the place on the
other river where the _yuca_ thicket had been found. At that time the
fury of their hunger was such that a Spaniard named Villarejo began to
eat a root of a white colour and rather thick. He had scarcely tasted
it when he lost his reason and became mad. The Spaniards made a very
hurried traverse, crossing more creeks and small streams until they
arrived at the _yuca_ plantation. As all came in an exhausted state,
not having eaten anything for so many days, they did nothing but pull
up _yucas_, with the earth still sticking to the roots, and began to
eat them at once. There they formed a camp, and remained for eight
days. The Spaniards were very sick and sore, wan, and wretched, and in
such an afflicted condition that it was very sad to look upon them.
[41] Thus was the mighty river Amazon discovered by this inhuman
traitor.
[42] _Jatropha manihot_, an edible root.