CHAPTER XXI

    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.

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Orellana, after stating some excuses, continued his way and discovered the very wide river Mara?ón 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[68] 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.

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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,[70] 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.