CHAPTER XXVI.

THE LAND OF EL DORADO.
“And yet unspoiled
Guiana, whose great city Geryon’s sons[51]
Call El Dorado.”—Paradise Lost, Book xi.

Before we quit the shores of the Apure, I will invite the reader to follow me in imagination, or, better still, in one of the many bongos trading between this and the Orinoco river, on to the adjoining province of Guayana, or Guiana, as it is more commonly known among English writers and explorers. This will give us an opportunity of gliding over one of the greatest rivers in the world, which nearly encircles a vast territory hardly known to civilized man, that is just now attracting a great deal of notice on account of the recent gold discoveries made there; a country unsurpassed in natural treasures and resources; a sort of hidden paradise which greedy gold-hunters of former times sought in vain under the{392} gilded name of El Dorado, and which, strange to say, has remained, like the wealth of California, undiscovered until recently.

What a train of awful recollections this once magic name of El Dorado brings to mind! What tales of woe, of daring adventure and blasted hopes it has left behind for the entertainment and raillery of subsequent generations! And yet, the gallant Raleigh—Sir Walter—like Galileo before the tribunal of the Inquisition, was right in his belief that there was gold enough in Guayana to load the entire fleet of Great Britain in his time.

But let us not anticipate the narrative of events, which will come, each one in its turn. Availing ourselves, therefore, of the gentle current of the Apure, we will proceed on our journey, stopping here and there to get a shot at the enormous crocodiles—larger than any we have yet seen—which infest its waters near its confluence with the Orinoco; and perhaps also at some thirsty jaguar taking its young to drink. Humboldt has described these scenes so vividly, that I must refer the reader to the third volume of his “Travels,” Bohn’s edition, for further information on the subject.

Proceeding down the river, which here presents the singularity of becoming narrower, on account of infiltrations through a spongy and sandy soil, as well as other causes, we come suddenly upon a vast expanse of waters, presenting all the appearance of an agitated sea, from the conflict between breeze and current. This is the grand old river we are in{393} quest of, the Orinoco. “The air resounded no longer with the piercing cries of herons, flamingos, and spoonbills, crossing in long files from one shore to the other. Our eyes sought in vain those water-fowls, the habits of which vary in each climate. Scarcely could we discover in the hollows of the waves a few large crocodiles, cutting obliquely, by the help of their long tails, the surface of the agitated waters. The horizon was bounded by a zone of forests, which nowhere reached so far as the bed of the river. A vast beach, constantly parched by the heat of the sun, desert and bare as the shores of the sea, resembles at a distance, from the effects of the mirage, pools of stagnant water. In these scattered features, we recognize the course of the Orinoco, one of the most majestic rivers of the New World.”[52]

At this point the Orinoco, already enriched with the tribute of the Guaviare, the Inirida, the Meta, and the Arauca, which, like the Apure, have their sources amidst the snowy mountains of New Granada, suddenly changes its course, and, in conjunction with the latter, flows nearly in a straight line towards the Atlantic, after describing an arc of a circle around the western portion of Guayana. The vast territory thus encompassed within its mighty embrace gives rise also to numerous other rivers hardly inferior in magnitude to the above-named, such as the Ventuari, the Cuchivero, the Paragua, the Caura, the Caroni, etc., all of which flow into the Orinoco from the{394} south, thus contributing to swell the volume of its waters to the extent that it presents by the time it reaches the ocean on the fifteenth meridian of longitude east of Washington. Our route being in this direction also, we will not follow the illustrious traveller in his laborious exploration of the Upper Orinoco, the Casiquiare and the Rio Negro. I would, however, advise those who are not conversant with his works to read his description of the Raudales, or Great Rapids of Atures and Maipures, which he has sketched with a masterly hand in his Tableaux de la Nature. The following passage, quoted from said work, will convey to the reader some idea of the magnificence of the river at that point:—

“A foaming surface of four miles in length presents itself at once to the eye: iron black masses of rock, resembling ruins and battlemented towers, rise frowning from the waters. Rocks and islands are adorned with the luxuriant vegetation of the tropical forest; a perpetual mist hovers over the waters, and the summits of the lofty palms pierce through the clouds of spray and vapor. When the rays of the glowing evening sun are refracted in their humid exhalations, a magic optical effect begins. Colored bows shine, vanish, and reappear; and the ethereal image is swayed to and fro by the breath of the sportive breeze. During the long rainy season, the streaming waters bring down islands of vegetable mould, and thus the naked rocks are studded with bright flower-beds adorned with melastomas and{395} droseras, and with silver-leaved mimosas and ferns. These spots recall to the recollection of the European those blocks of granite decked with flowers which rise solitary amidst the glaciers of Savoy, and are called by the dwellers in the Alps ‘Jardins,’ or ‘Courtils.’ ”

This is the country of the India-rubber and the Brazil-nut trees, two of the most stupendous denizens of the tropical forest; of the wild cacao, the fragrant sarapia, or tonka-bean, the sassafras-laurel, the ananas or wild pine-apple, and of numberless other useful products, as well as baneful drugs; for here is gathered the mavacure-vine, from the juice of which the Indians of this region compound the most virulent poison known in nature, the curare, which the natives employ most effectively in procuring game by the aid of their blow-pipes. So quick and certain are its effects, that an animal wounded by one of the small arrows used for the purpose drops dead before the creature is hardly conscious of its danger; and singular enough, no evil effects whatever arise from partaking of the game thus killed; for the curare is perfectly harmless when taken internally.

The Raudales are at present a serious impediment to the free navigation of the river up to the frontiers of Brazil; although, as Humboldt justly remarks, this obstruction could be avoided by cutting a canal around them, the nature of the ground offering ample facilities for this purpose; but this cannot be done advantageously until the country shall be better stocked with population than at present.{396}

Proceeding down the stream, the only town of any importance we encounter on the route is Ciudad Bolívar, formerly Angostura, which is the capital of the State of Guayana and a mart of considerable trade with the llanos of Apure, Calabozo, and Barinas. The old name of the city was changed in honor of the Liberator, Simon Bolívar, who, after expelling the Spaniards from New Granada, assembled here the first Congress which proclaimed the union of the republic of Colombia in 1819. Pleasantly situated on a bluff several feet above the high-water level of the river, about three hundred miles from the sea, and connected by its numerous tributaries with a country nearly as large as continental Europe, Ciudad Bolívar is destined to become the seat of a vast commerce, when the now almost desert region of Guayana shall have opened its golden treasures to an enterprising generation. At present it contains about ten thousand inhabitants; has a fine cathedral, government house, and very handsome private residences and warehouses. The business, according to all accounts, has fallen off greatly since the war of seven years which, under the alleged name of Federacion, devastated the rest of the republic. Happily for the State of Guayana, it has always been kept free from these periodical turmoils by the efforts of some truly patriotic men—among others, John B. Dalla-Costa, Jr., the present President of the State, under whose enlightened administration public improvements, roads, hospitals, schools, etc., are being established, and the nucleus of a foreign immigration started on the way{397} to the gold fields. The commercial houses are principally German, French, and Italian; but of late many Southern refugees from the United States have been induced to try their fortunes on the banks of the Orinoco; and, judging from past experience in the rapid development of California and Australia, through the energies of the Anglo-Saxon race, the placers of that golden paradise bid fair to become another centre of commercial intercourse with foreign nations.

It was from this place that the first expedition in search of El Dorado, on this side of the continent, set out in 1595. None of those composing it ever came back, however, to tell the sad tale of their discomfiture by the fierce tribes of Indians which dwelt on the fine savannas lying between the Caroni and Paragua rivers, beyond which popular belief, assisted by the traditions of the aborigines themselves, had settled definitely the existence of a region abounding in gold. Previous to this, however, the fame of El Dorado had spread over the western part of South America, and several expeditions had been fitted out in Venezuela, New Granada, Quito, and Peru, with the avowed object of conquering the wealthy empire of the Omeguas, whose sovereign, El Dorado, or the “gilded king,” was represented as dwelling in palaces with columns of massive gold. The climate of that region being warm throughout the year, and the morals of the inhabitants not yet perverted by contact with their would-be civilizers, his majesty’s attire, it was asserted, was in keeping with the glitter of his dominions; a simple coating of balsamiferous resins, in which the country{398} abounds, followed by a sprinkling of gold-dust through the hollow tube of a bamboo, twice a day, being sufficient to distinguish him from the rest of his naked subjects: hence the name. But this sort of drapery being rather uncomfortable at bed-time, it was removed every night by simply washing with water—a most delightful luxury in warm countries—and as easily replaced on the following day. Where such embarras de richesse could be indulged in by a demi-savage monarch, gold mines must exist in abundance; the sands of the rivers and lakes must consist of fine gold, and the pebbles and rocks of the same precious metal. People were not, however, in perfect accord respecting the precise locality of said auriferous kingdom; some placing it on the eastern side of Guayana, as already stated, under the name of El Dorado de la Parime; others, two hundred and fifty leagues to the westward of this, near the eastern slope of the Andes of New Granada; while not a few contended that it was situated in the country of the Omeguas, somewhere near the waters of the Upper Amazon.

Such were the vague notions concerning the country of El Dorado, which the people of former times sought in vain at the cost of many lives and vast amounts of treasure. Strange blindness! when they had it right before their eyes! for, as the noble missionary writer often quoted, Father Gumilla, tells us respecting the wealth of South America: “Let us ask the Englishman, Keymisco,[53] and other captains,{399} countrymen of his: Friends, what journeys are these? for what purpose so many dangerous voyages, so many losses of treasure, ships, and sailors?[54] Let us ask both Pizarros in Peru and Quito; both Quesadas in Santa Fé de Bogotá; Orellana, on the Mara?on, and Berrio on the Meta, as well as many other famous chieftains: Gentlemen, what’s your hurry? what the object of so many armaments, marches, and arduous explorations, dangerous and painful?—‘We seek,’ they answer ‘the famous and opulent El Dorado: let no one, therefore, be astonished at our determination and earnest purpose; for what is worth much, must entail great sacrifices.’ ”

“The Athenians burst into laughter when they met and heard Diogenes seeking for a man; but they laughed most foolishly, inasmuch as the philosopher sought a man of truth only! one who should profess it in earnest; and it should have been a matter of shame, rather than raillery, with the men of Athens, to learn that so great a philosopher could not find one among them. But we shall not err if we laugh at the simplicity of those noble conquerors. Most singular spectacle! To see so many Spanish chieftains stumbling at each step over an El Dorado of inexhaustible richness, as is in reality the entire new kingdom{400} of Granada, and Tierra Firme, so abundant in gold, silver, and emerald mines, such as those already found within the jurisdictions of Pamplona, Mariquita, Muso, Neiva, Los Remedios, Antioquia, Anserma, Choco, Barvacoas, and a great many more which are waiting to be brought to light, as is indicated by the golden sands carried down by rivers and torrents from the mountains; thus showing their willingness to be disentombed. Therefore, if there are so many scores of Dorados, immensely rich and superabundant, only waiting to be worked; why so much restlessness, so much expenditure and wandering after a Dorado? What need had Peru to risk her militia in unknown regions to suffer and perish in pursuit of a Dorado, while she possesses the unrivalled golden fields of Caravalla, with many others? And the inexhaustible silver mountain of Potosi, to say nothing of other veins of the same metal, almost innumerable, though less prolific? It was indeed a singular idea to seek abroad, at great cost of life and treasure, the very thing they possessed at home.”[55]

Nothing in the history of modern adventure can compare in hardihood, determination, and reckless disregard of life, with those haphazard undertakings{401} in the heart of South America which, although proving invariably most disastrous to their promoters, resulted ultimately in a real benefit to the colonial possessions of Spain in the New World, by extending the geographical knowledge of those regions. To fully comprehend the nature of the task which these adventurers imposed upon themselves, it will suffice to say, with regard to Venezuela, that few spots only, and these far apart, were then occupied by Europeans along its extensive sea-coast. The thirst for gold, which characterized the spirit of the time, and the reputation the country enjoyed for the precious metal, as well as for the fine pearls obtained at Margarita and other places, had attracted thither a crowd of lawless adventurers from all parts of Europe, but more especially from Germany—the Emperor Charles the Fifth having, in an evil hour, granted to a company of Teutonic speculators all the territory comprised between Cabo de la Vela and Maracapana, with privilege to capture and use as slaves all those of the native inhabitants who should resist their exactions. The power thus conferred on those merciless adventurers was freely used by them to enslave the doomed lords of the land, who were hunted like wild beasts in all directions, and quickly transported to the mines of Hispaniola, or Saint Domingo, where they perished by thousands, the native population of that island having already been exterminated in this manner. To accomplish their work more effectually, expeditions were organized and despatched to all parts of the country, some of which penetrated beyond the llanos{402} of Apure, Casanare, and Meta, as far as the Caqueta and Putumayo, tributary rivers of the Upper Amazon. Others, still more bold, disregarding the frigid blasts of the Sierra Nevada, with its dizzy precipices and yawning chasms, sought the “Land of gold” in a westerly direction, fighting their way not only against a frowning nature, but also against the hardy mountain tribes, who disputed every inch of ground to the bearded invaders. It was in this manner that the rich domain of Cundinamarca, in New Granada, was made known to the colonists of Venezuela, by Nicholas Federmann, in 1539, although Jimenez de Quesada had preceded him, and Sebastian de Benalcazar, by the way of the river Magdalena from the coast of Cartagena.

“The junction of three bodies of troops on the table-land of New Granada,” says Humboldt, “spread through all that part of America occupied by the Spaniards the news of an immensely rich and populous country, which remained to be conquered. Sebastian de Benalcazar marched from Quito by way of Popayan (1536) to Bogotá; Nicolas Federmann, coming from Venezuela, arrived from the east by the plains of Casanare and Meta. These two captains found, already settled on the table-land of Cundinamarca, the famous Adelantado Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada, one of whose descendants I saw near Zipaquirá, with bare feet, attending cattle. The fortuitous meeting of the three conquistadores, one of the most extraordinary and dramatic events of the history of the conquest, took place in 1536.”

No better avenger of the wrongs perpetrated on{403} the unfortunate aborigines could have been provided against their merciless persecutors, than this phantom of untold wealth, which, like the fugitive fountain before Tantalus, haunted them day and night, in the camp of the wearied soldier, in the alcove of the proud Hidalgo, and even in the quiet seclusion of the cloister. And yet one cannot but admire the pluck of those hardy cavaliers of old who, regardless of the almost insuperable difficulties presented by an unknown and savage country, went boldly in search of this new Ophir over lofty mountain ranges and desert plains, which, even at this day, are the terror of the wayfarer. Three centuries later, when Bolívar, with a well-appointed army and better roads than Federmann met in his famous expedition, crossed the Cordilleras from the plains of Venezuela, and undertook the recovery of New Granada from the Spaniards in 1819, he lost nearly all his baggage-mules, and many valuable lives besides, amidst the wintry páramos of that tempestuous ridge.

Of the earliest expeditions in search of El Dorado, those undertaken by Jorge de Spira in 1534, and by Felipe de Urre or Utre,[56] in 1541, from the coast of Coro, Venezuela, rank among the most extraordinary on record. The former of these worthies had received the title of adelantado, or governor, to the German colony in Tierra Firme, a dignity which was associated in those days with the more vainglorious aspirations{404} of the conqueror, or conquistador, and to this end were directed, more or less, all the efforts of the men appointed to places of distinction in the New World, without neglecting to provide themselves with the more substantial perquisites of the fraternity in the shape of Indian captives, pearls, and gold. Accordingly, the Adelantado took especial care to bring with him from Spain a force of about four hundred men, many of whom were persons of distinction, and landed in Coro in the early part of February of that year.

Without troubling himself much about the affairs of the colony, the new Adelantado proceeded immediately to scour the country in search of gold; but finding none amongst the savage tribes he encountered beyond the mountains of the coast, boldly plunged into the mare magnum of the llanos, in spite of the opposition of the natives and the asperity of the route. The vernal deluge of the low lands, however, put a stop in due time to further progress, compelling him to seek the protection of the hilly country to the westward, where years after was founded the city of Barinas. Here he spent several months waiting for the return of the dry season, and in vain endeavors to obtain provisions in a country solely inhabited by savage tribes, that did not disdain to confront the superior mettle of his men whenever they had a chance. Reduced at last to the greatest extremity by famine and sickness, the Governor despatched a portion of his force under one of his most tried captains, with orders to penetrate into the valleys formed by the lofty range of mountains further west.{405}

Goaded by hunger, and with the hope of finding more promising realms than those they had encountered on the route from Coro, the soldiers of Spira did not stop until they discovered on a high mountain what seemed to be the granary of the tribes appertaining to that district, which they were not slow in transporting to headquarters. Somewhat restored with this opportune supply of food, and not in the least daunted by the dangers that threatened him, Spira resolved to proceed on his forlorn journey, sending back to Coro the sick and wounded under a competent escort, which was to rejoin him in his camp. This accomplished, the Adelantado resumed his march across the plains in a southward direction. Keeping in sight of the western cordillera, and guided by the celestial constellations at night, Spira and his brave companions presented the spectacle so well described by Goldsmith in the following lines:—
“To distant climes, a dreary scene,
Where half the convex world intrudes between,
Through torrid tracks with fainting step they go.”
The Deserted Village.

After several months of arduous vicissitudes, when they nearly all perished for want of provisions, subsisting in the mean time on the tender shoots of heliconias and the most loathsome reptiles, they stopped at last on the banks of the river Upia, having crossed many others of no less consequence, such as the Apure, the Sarare, and the Casanare, by what means the chronicles of the time do not tell us. Completely exhausted now, and again threatened by{406} the approaching rainy season, the weary caravan prepared to winter there, selecting for the purpose some high ground near a forest, upon which they built huts and considered themselves secure against the vernal flood. Vain precautions! The thundering voice of the tropical tempest made itself heard at length, and neither human ingenuity, nor high bank, nor tangled forest, could turn aside the mighty swell which, like a partial deluge, sweeps over the boundless plain at the vernal equinox. Thus the bold Castilians, after courageously braving the terrors of a savage country for nearly two years, found themselves reduced to a small space of dry land, and in danger of being washed away at any moment. Ignorant of the ways, and badly provided with the necessary appliances for procuring game in a country so profusely endowed with this commodity, they were still compelled to subsist on wild fruits and roots; even these could not be procured but at the peril of ravenous jaguars, which, like themselves, had been driven thither by the engulfing inundation. More skilled in the art of swimming and navigating those waters, the vengeful Indians watched stealthily every opportunity to pick off stragglers from the camp; and thus many of those poor wretches were spared the horrors of a lingering death by starvation, sickness, and despair. Yet, the unconquerable spirit of their leader, far from yielding to the force of circumstances, and wholly impressed with visions of a golden paradise, only seemed to urge him on still farther in the unknown interior; for no sooner was he released from his long confinement by{407} the subsidence of the waters, than Spira crossed over to the south side of the river, and proceeded on his journey, through innumerable hostile tribes of Indians, who annoyed him considerably on his march. During his wanderings over those immeasurable wilds, Spira obtained from an Indian captive some information respecting more prosperous and populated lands to the westward, the inhabitants of which were clad in fine cotton fabrics, and wore ornaments of gold, showing a higher grade of civilization than that of the savages he had encountered. Although at first he lent a willing ear to the story, and even sent a strong body of men to reconnoitre the lofty mountain range beyond, the Adelantado desisted from his projected conquest in that direction, owing to the rugged nature of the route, as reported by his men, and the little faith he placed on such statements from Indian informers. The fact is, the Spaniards had proved such troublesome guests, that the aborigines, to get rid of them, and perceiving their eagerness for gold, constantly allured them towards the wealth of other countries, situated farther off. Had Spira, on this occasion, followed the advice of his informant, instead of persisting, as he did, in his southern exploration, he would, in a short time, have found the promised land of his expectations—the rich and fertile country of the Muiscas, in one word, for he was then only a few days’ march from their own capital on the high table-land of Bogotá. His bad luck led him instead to a region so exactly the reverse of this, that his companions gave it the name of Mal Pais (bad country{408}), not only on account of the roughness of the land, but also of its inhabitants, with whom they had several desperate engagements, before they were enabled to proceed.

Without losing sight of the friendly cordillera which had guided their steps thus far, the Spaniards arrived at the village of a less pugnacious tribe of Indians, which they christened with the name of Nuestra Se?ora, or Our Lady, in commemoration of the Feast of the Assumption, which they, in spite of their wretched condition, celebrated with great pomp and rejoicings, in 1537. It is the same where they afterwards founded the city of San Juan de los Llanos.[57] Here the Spaniards heard again of regions abounding in gold and silver, situated farther on; and although they had become rather incredulous respecting such reports, they believed, on this occasion, what the Indians told them, in consequence of finding there some signs of a more advanced state of civilization, such as a temple, consecrated to the sun, and a convent of virgins similar to those which were afterwards found among the Muiscas and Peruvians. Without stopping even to rest his troop, Spira crossed the Ariari, perhaps higher up than Macatoa, and before its junction with the Guaviare. He then penetrated, by force of arms, into the country of the Guayupes and Canicamares, two powerful tribes, and shortly afterwards he discovered the head waters of the Papamene, where he stopped some days to rest his men, and to obtain{409} guides among the Indians to conduct him to the country of riches. The dwellers of Papamene received Spira in a friendly manner, and established with his soldiers a system of exchanges and communication most acceptable on both sides; the strangers obtaining by these means the provisions they were in need of, and the Indians those trinkets of foreign manufacture so highly prized by them. But, tired at last of their troublesome guests, the aborigines persuaded them that a little further on they would find the country they were in quest of. To encourage them still more, five of the natives volunteered to act as guides, pledging themselves to lead them shortly to the heart of that happy country, from whence they would return loaded with riches. Instead of this, the wily Indians conducted them to a dismal labyrinth of swamps and quicksands, the abode of a ferocious and warlike nation, dexterous in battle and in the management of formidable lances of palm-wood, tipped with blades of human bone, very sharp and pointed. When once in the heart of this horrid wilderness, the guides disappeared one night, and left their friends to shift for themselves.

Not in the least disconcerted by the untoward contretemps, the stubborn leader of the band, instead of retracing his steps, prepared at once to make a thorough exploration of that region. To this end he detailed his lieutenant, Esteban Martin—a well tried and competent individual—with fifty infantry and twenty horsemen, to reconnoitre the position. Martin soon discovered the difficulties of the undertaking,{410} and the dangers to which they all would be exposed if the Governor persisted in his project. After an ineffectual reconnoisance of five days’ duration, when men and horses were constantly in danger of being swallowed up by the treacherous ground, he returned to the camp, and again endeavored to dissuade the Governor from his foolhardy scheme; but Spira was deaf to the timely advice of his lieutenant. Ordering him to leave behind the horses, and to take the fifty men already allotted to the service, he enjoined Martin to resume the reconnoisance forthwith, by a different route.

The result of the foray was just as the lieutenant had foreseen. The Indians allowed them to penetrate unmolested into the interior of their stronghold, and then cut them up in detail. Although the Spaniards fought like lions on this occasion, very few of them were fortunate enough to reach headquarters, to apprise the stubborn Governor of his danger. It became now necessary to effect a retreat from that den of horrors which the Spaniards stigmatized with the appropriate name of Los Choques—the Onslaughts—in allusion to the repeated attacks which the enemy made upon them while endeavoring to accomplish their escape. Unfortunately for the invaders, as they were then very near the line of the equator, where it rains almost incessantly, they had to contend also against the inclemency of the weather, which brought on a multitude of diseases very fatal to men and horses; for they had neither the means nor the physical strength to counteract them. Thus many of these brave fellows{411} became a prey to the distemper, among them several distinguished individuals, whose names are given by Oviedo in his “Historia de la Conquista,” such as Francisco Murcia de Rondon, who had acted as secretary to King Francis the First of France during his captivity in Spain.

The most difficult part of the undertaking remained yet to be accomplished, namely, that of retracing their steps to the sea-coast through a flooded and deserted country; for, with the previous experience of the natives, the villages were abandoned at the approach of the dreaded foreigners, and stripped of their provisions. So great was the destitution among the followers of Spira, that, on one occasion, a party of his men fell in with an infant, left forsaken by its mother in the hurry of the moment after a surprise; and, without the least compunction, they devoured it along with some edible roots found in the hut. When Spira heard of it he would have made an example of the cannibals on the spot; but considering that he was still in an enemy’s country, and that he could not very well spare the men—four in number—he commuted the sentence of death passed upon them to some other, though quite severe punishment. They all, however, got their deserts after a while; for, as the historiographer Oviedo tells us, every one of them died in the most distressing agony—although of various diseases—at the thought of the horrid crime they had committed.

A whole year was spent in this disastrous retreat, which, more than any other feat of arms, proved the{412} mettle of the bold conquerors. The remnants of what was a dashing phalanx—ninety men out of the four hundred that five years before had started in search of wealth and fame—reached Coro in February of 1539; and these, far from being discouraged by past misfortunes, only inflamed the ardor of other incautious adventurers to join them in a renewed search for El Dorado; for we find Felipe de Urre and Pedro de Limpias, two of Spirals followers, engaging in a similar expedition soon after the return of this ill-fated conquistador, who did not long survive the hardships of that fearful journey, for he died in Coro on the 12th of June, 1540. His successor, as Governor of the colony, Bishop de las Bastidas, whose mission as a prelate of the church should have been one of “peace on earth, and good-will to men,” far from discountenancing these reckless enterprises, became himself a most ardent votary of the “gilded king,” to whom he prepared to pay his respects through his lieutenant, the famous conquistador, Felipe de Urre, like Spira and Federmann, of German nationality. The exchequer of the colony being rather short of funds at the time, the Right Reverend sent an expedition under Pedro de Limpias, to the lake of Maracaibo, for the purpose of obtaining its equivalent in the shape of Indian captives, a species of merchandise which commanded a ready sale among the traders on the coast of Tierra Firme. The speculation succeeded so well that, by the month of June, 1541, the Commander-in-chief was ready to start at the head of one hundred and fifty men, well armed and equipped for{413} a protracted campaign. Urre appointed as his chief of staff the ubiquitous Pedro de Limpias, a brave and crafty adventurer, long experienced in Indian forays, especially that of the unfortunate Jorge de Spira, and afterwards under Federmann, during his perilous journey over the icy Sierras of Cundinamarca.

The only pass through the northern cordillera then known to the colonists was that of Agua-Caliente, a little to the south of the present site of Puerto Cabello, and the same that Spira and Federmann sought some years before in their march through to the Llanos. This pass being situated some fifty leagues east of Coro, and no roads existing at that time, the little band of Felipe de Urre had to follow the coast-line intervening between both places, with no small inconvenience to men and beasts, from the burning sands and the quagmires they must have encountered.

The route being pretty well known already, Urre had no difficulty in finding the pass; and then following the line of march of his predecessors in their famous perambulations through the Llanos, he reached La Fragua, or Nuestra Se?ora, in safety, stopping there for a while until the return of the dry season, and to obtain further information respecting the mysterious land he was in quest of. His astonishment was great, however, when he heard that, a few days before, Hernan Perez de Quesada, with a large force from Cundinamarca, had passed through that place in quest of El Dorado. Fearing that the Spaniard might get ahead of him in this coveted conquest, Urre left his winter quarters sooner than he had calculated,{414} and reached the country of Papamene. From thence he might have gained easy access to the populous and well-stocked country of the Guayupes, but for his obstinacy in keeping the track of Quesada in his march southward. Although warned in time of the dangers of this route by a friendly Indian, who offered to conduct him instead to the rich domain of Macatoa in a south-easterly direction, the stubborn German still persisted in his purpose, with no better luck than his rival; who barely escaped with his life, and the loss of the greater portion of his followers, to the high table-land of Papayan, after two years of wanderings and vicissitudes through the most dismal solitudes and tangled forests.

Compelled by the approaching rainy season to seek also the proximity of the mountains, and with most of his force in a deplorable condition, Urre hastened to establish his winter quarters on a spur of the Andes, which stretches far into the low lands, and was named by them the Punta, or Cape of Los Pardaos. But here an unexpected misfortune awaited them; for the district being scarcely inhabited, they could find no provisions during their long wintry captivity; subsisting, like Spira and his men, on reptiles and the like. The greatest luxury they enjoyed at times was a ball of corn-meal, well seasoned with a species of red-ants, and roasted on the embers. The game was easily secured by placing the moist paste near the mouth of the ant-nest, which soon attracted the insects, and when well covered with them, they were kneaded together, the same operation being repeated{415} several times, until the roll contained more insects than paste. Reduced, in consequence, to the condition of walking skeletons, and most of them covered with the most loathsome tumors and ulcers, the forlorn wanderers could hardly extricate themselves from that theatre of their misfortunes, when the subsidence of the waters allowed them to seek their old quarters at La Fragua, to recruit before engaging in new adventures.

Although the force had dwindled down to less than half the number of those originally brought from Coro, Felipe de Urre determined to resume his explorations with only forty men, which was all that could be got together, after leaving a sufficient number at La Fragua for the protection of the sick. Remembering the advice given him by the Indian guide of Papamene to look for the country of the Omeguas in a different direction from that taken by Quesada in his perilous pilgrimage, Urre set out in quest of Macatoa—situated on the right bank of the great river Guaviare—as the most convenient centre for future operations against the warlike Omeguas.

Whether it was indifference on the part of the Indians, or a preconcerted plan to bring their common enemy to speedy destruction at the hands of the Omeguas, the most powerful nation among them, the fact is, that the invaders found no difficulty in penetrating as far as Macatoa by the help of Indian guides and assistance. In like manner the lord of Macatoa, on being informed of the purpose which had brought the strangers thus far, received them with every{416} demonstration of friendship, giving up to them the most commodious residences in the town, and assisting them with provisions and attendants in abundance. The same courtesies were extended to them at their departure, although the Cacique warned his guests of the perils they would encounter if they persisted in attacking the Omeguas with so small a force. In order to expedite their march, the Cacique sent messengers ahead to apprise the lord of the next tribe, his ally—situated some nine days’ journey from Macatoa—of their coming, and recommending them strongly to his care and attention. On arriving there, so captivated were the inhabitants with the novelty of the strangers and their attire, especially with the horses, that they became even more obsequious than the people of Macatoa, and, like these, warned the leader of that squad of adventurers not to engage in so desperate a combat with the Omeguas, representing likewise to Felipe de Urre that these people possessed also domestic quadrupeds of large size—probably llamas—which they could use like horses if they chose. In addition to these facts the Spaniards were reassured of the immense wealth in gold and silver everywhere to be found among that populous nation, which news so excited their avarice that, disregarding all the chances against the success of their enterprise, they hastened towards the goal of their expectations.

Perceiving that his arguments were of no avail with the Castilians, to deter them from their rash undertaking, the friendly Cacique offered to escort them with a few of his subjects, on the road to the nation{417} of the Omeguas, reaching the first of their outposts in five days. It is related by the chronicles that, having ascended some high ground near by, the Spaniards descried a city of such extraordinary extent and magnificence, that, although not very far off, they could not see the end of it. The streets were straight, and the buildings quite near each other; among the latter was to be seen a superb edifice of vast proportions, which the friendly Cacique told them was the palace of the lord of that city, whose name was Cuarica; and that it served the double function of habitation to his lordship, and temple to many gods, or idols, of solid gold.

Here the Cacique, having accomplished his errand, proposed to return to his own dominions; but before taking leave of his protegés, he advised Urre, as a last token of his regard, to capture, at all hazards, the men stationed at the post, before they should carry the alarm into the city. The suggestion was fully appreciated by the Commander and some officers near him, all of whom being on horseback at that moment, immediately gave chase to the fugitive Omeguas. One of these, finding himself hard pressed by Urre, who rode ahead of his companions, turned round suddenly, and struck the Commander so powerful a blow with his lance, that it pierced right through his cuirass, penetrating deeply into the ribs of the right side. Disconcerted with the blow, and the pain inflicted by the wound, Urre abandoned the pursuit, and turned back to rejoin his companions, while the fugitives made their escape into the city.{418}

Greatly perplexed with this unexpected mishap to their Commander, and fearing that, alarmed with the report carried by the advanced guard into the city, the Omeguas would immediately sally forth to encounter them in great numbers, the Spaniards, by the advice of their friendly Indian guide, who still remained by them, placing their wounded leader in a hammock, resolved to retire at once from the neighborhood. Their apprehensions were soon realized; for, in a little while, they heard the confused yells of the multitude, amidst the ominous booming of big drums and other war instruments, preparing for the attack. Happily for the retreating Spaniards, night came on soon after, which enabled them to place a good distance between themselves and the advancing columns of the enemy.

On arriving at the village of their good friend the Cacique, the first care was to attend to the chieftain’s wound, as well as circumstances would permit; but hardly were they established here, when the Cacique, apprised by some of his people who were working on their fields, informed Urre of the approach of the Omeguas. Unable to place himself at the head of his soldiers, the Commander ordered his lieutenant, Pedro de Limpias, to give them battle at once, regardless of their numbers, which, according to Oviedo, amounted to not less than fifteen thousand. The ground being favorable for the use of cavalry, Limpias headed the charge with the few horses he had at his command; and although the Omeguas resisted for some time the onset of those animals,—seen by them for the first time,{419}—they at last commenced to give way; and the infantry soldiers coming up at this moment under the orders of another brave captain, one Bartolomé Belzar, completed the rout of the clamorous hosts of Omeguas, who have never since, to this day, been heard of; for Urre lost his life afterwards at the hands of a tyrant who ruled the colony in his absence, as we shall see presently; and the country remains still a perfect terra incognita, although several attempts were made subsequently from Perú and Quito to find that mysterious land.

Convinced that, with the small force at his disposal, it would have been more than rashness to undertake the conquest of a city which, on so short a notice, could raise fifteen thousand warriors, Urre determined—so soon as his wound permitted him to mount his horse—to return to Macatoa, and hence to La Fragua, which he reached after an absence of three months. Great was the joy in the invalid camp of the Spaniards, on the return of their friends; but greater still, at the good tidings they brought of having found the long-sought-for realms of El Dorado; for they had not the least doubt in their minds that such was the country of the powerful nation whose great city they had looked on with anxious eyes, but dared not enter.

It is a singular coincidence that, while Gonzalo Pizarro was engaged about this time in his ill-fated exploration of the country of Canelos, the land of cinnamon-trees, he heard from the Indians of Muchifaro, that not far from there—somewhat in the direction{420} of Félipe de Urre’s discoveries—a great Sire, most opulent in subjects and riches, and whose name was Omeguas, or Omaguas, had his realms; Pizarro sent in consequence his kinsman and confidential friend, Francisco Orellana, to explore that region, with fifty men, who were launched upon the swift current of the river Napo in a frail barge, constructed in the wilderness, of very rude materials. But Orellana, probably disgusted by this time with the sufferings already endured, instead of searching for the “rich and fruitful land abounding with gold,” abandoned himself and his companions to the current of the stream—one of the greatest tributaries of the mighty Amazon—and once on the bosom of the Father of Waters, sought the broad Atlantic, which he reached in safety after a run of two thousand miles. “But it is marvellous,” Prescott says, “that he should escape shipwreck in the perilous and unknown navigation of that river. Many times his vessel was nearly dashed to pieces, on its rocks and in its furious rapids; and he was in still greater peril from the warlike tribes on its borders, who fell on his little troop whenever he attempted to land, and followed in his wake for miles in their canoes.”[58]

The sufferings endured by Pizarro and his men on this occasion, remind us of the miserable condition of Jorge de Spira and Felipe de Urre on their retrograde march to Coro. “Every scrap of provisions had been long since consumed. The last of their horses had{421} been devoured. To appease the gnawings of hunger, they were fain to eat the leather of their saddles and belts. The woods supplied them with scanty sustenance, and they greedily fed upon toads, serpents, and such other reptiles as they occasionally found.”

But to return to the way-worn company under the German leader, Urre, whom we left in rather a bad plight at their haven of La Fragua. After a deliberate consultation among the principal captains of the band, it was unanimously resolved to send to Coro for reinforcements, and Pedro de Limpias having offered his services to that effect, he was despatched forthwith by Felipe de Urre with a good portion of his force as an escort; but suspecting, soon after, some evil intentions on the part of his lieutenant, who was always at loggerheads with the German element of the troop, the Commander followed him soon after, with the rest of the men.

Subsequent events proved that the apprehensions of the gallant German were not unfounded; for on his approach to the settlements of the colony, he learned that the government thereof had passed into the hands of an usurper, a crafty lawyer, named Carvajal, Relator or Recorder of the Audiencia of San Domingo, who, by forgery of despatches from that body, had managed to appoint himself Governor, in the absence of the lawful incumbent of the post. Felipe de Urre was, moreover, warned by his friends of the machinations of his lieutenant, who, instead of demanding the requisite contingent of men and horses to prosecute his conquests, was plotting his{422} destruction, and that of his countrymen, with the wily Carvajal. This individual, whom all accounts represent as an unscrupulous tyrant and most accomplished hypocrite, succeeded, nevertheless, in disarming Urre and his adherents, all of whom he had the effrontery to put to death, on some specious pretext concocted between himself and the spiteful Pedro de Limpias.

Thus fell one of the bravest pioneers of South America, and a most disinterested champion of its early colonization. “None of the chieftains,” says Oviedo, “of the many that warred in the Indies, stained his sword with blood less than he; for, having overrun more provinces than any one else in his protracted journey of four years’ duration, his moderation was impelled to war only when he found no other means to obtain peace.”

But the tyrannical rule of his murderer, Carvajal, was only of short duration; for about this time the Emperor Charles the Fifth, cognizant of the excesses practised against the unhappy aborigines—through the representations of their zealous defender, the celebrated Father Las Casas—and the deplorable state into which the country had fallen under the bad management of the German company, annulled the charter granted to the latter, and sent an eminent jurist, the Licentiate de Tolosa, with full powers to regulate the affairs of the colony as Governor and Captain-General thereof. On his arrival at Coro, Tolosa was soon posted in regard to the conduct of the usurper Carvajal, who, for greater security, kept himself at a distance from the sea-coast, in the new settlement of{423} Tocuyo, far away in the interior. The Captain-General managed things so well, however, that he contrived to pounce upon the wretch, one night, when least expected; and having tried, and found him guilty of the crimes imputed to him, he sentenced him to be hanged—after being dragged on a hide through the streets of the town—from the same tree, a splendid Ceiba, or silk-cotton tree, in the centre of the plaza, which the tyrant had polluted with his numberless atrocities, making use of it as a gibbet during his executions.

 

We shall not follow the other conquerors in their restless search for El Dorado, now in one direction, now in an opposite quarter, until it was brought within the embrace of the mighty Orinoco, where Raleigh’s last adventure was terminated by his unsuccessful attack upon Santo Tomé de la Angostura, the present Ciudad Bolívar, where we must resume our journey.

Although the river has been well known for the last three hundred years, the country within its boundaries, properly called Guayana, has remained comparatively ignored by the outside world until these latter years. A few settlements along its southern shore, and these principally controlled by priestly exclusiveness, was all the advancement that had been made there up to the destruction of the missions by the war of independence. Since then the country had nearly returned to its primeval state of savageness, when the “gold fever,” that most potent excitant{424} of all distempers, aroused the lethargic apathy of the inhabitants, and now bids fair to communicate itself to people of keener sensibilities.

It is possible that the missionary fathers, who had for a long time entire control of the scattered villages south of the Orinoco, were well informed respecting the existence of the gold fields which are being brought to light just now; but the frailes—all of them European Spaniards, and consequently strong supporters of their cause—were wantonly massacred by some staff officers of General Bolívar, and not one of them left to reveal the source of their reputed wealth. And, what is most singular, the learned Humboldt, who explored the Orinoco in nearly its whole course, devotes an entire chapter to prove the non-existence of gold in Guayana, especially on the spot where it has been found in the greatest abundance; although, with his characteristic reserve and far-seeing perspicuity, he concludes with these words:

 

“Though the celebrity of the riches of Spanish Guiana is chiefly assignable to the geographical situation of the country and the errors of the old maps, we are not justified in denying the existence of any auriferous land in the tract of country of 82,000 square leagues (250,000 square miles), which stretches between the Orinoco and the Amazon, on the east of the Andes of Quito and New Granada. What I saw of this country between the second and eighth degrees of longitude, is entirely composed of granite, and of a gneiss passing into micaceous and talcous slate. These{425} rocks appear naked in the lofty mountains of Parima, as well as in the plains of the Atabapo and the Casiquiare. Granite predominates there over the other rocks: and though in both continents, the granite of ancient formation is pretty generally destitute of gold ore, we cannot hence conclude that the granite of Parima contains no vein, no stratum of auriferous quartz.”

 

The error of the great traveller in this respect is assignable to the fact that he never left the bed of the Orinoco, which is bordered, as he states, by ledges of primitive formation. The auriferous deposits of the State of Guayana are found in a range of mountains, having a general course north-east and south-west, about a hundred miles south of the Orinoco river, precisely where Sir Walter Raleigh placed his El Dorado de la Parime.[59]

Through the courtesy of J. B. Austin, Esq., of Philadelphia—a gentleman of refined cultivation and thorough American energy, who has lately returned from that region—I am enabled to place before my readers the subjoined letter, containing an accurate statement concerning the so-called “fabulous” realms of El Dorado,[A] as they now are:

“The streams having their sources in these mountains,{426} generally flow into the Cuyuni and Masaruny rivers, tributaries of the Esequibo, though some run into the Caroni, one of the great tributaries of the Orinoco. As these gold deposits are approached, the geological features of the country undergo an important change. Quartz appears in immense quantities, running in broad veins through the savannas, or thickly distributed over great extents. This is often auriferous to a slight degree. South of the Yuruary river the system of plains is left behind, and here are ranges of hills and mountains covered with dense, gloomy, tropical forests, and intersected with numerous streams and rivers. The principal formation, or ‘country rock,’ is highly metamorphosed talcose and chloritic slates, broken often by upheavals of granite, and traversed by veins and ledges of quartz, from thirty inches to ninety feet wide. All this is auriferous, free gold in quartz, and of a richness incredible, until seen and explored. The earth, rocks, and beds of streams all yield gold in the greatest profusion, and over ten thousand men are now at work there without any scientific direction, and with the poorest appliances for labor, but all doing well, many accumulating large sums of money. Every part of their labor is by hand, and their tools and implements of the most ordinary character.

“Here is timber sufficient for ages of consumption; abundant supplies of water; a quiet, orderly people; good government, and deposits of gold apparently inexhaustible. It seems strange that such a country has remained so far hidden for such a length of time.{427} It was known to the aborigines, for we find their old pits, implements and pottery. Even as late as the time of Sir Walter Raleigh it was known to the Indians, and that gallant leader made four attempts to penetrate its fastnesses, but each time was driven back by the Spaniards. Evidently it was known to the Capuchin fathers, who colonized and christianized that section of South America; but by them it was held as a great secret, and upon their overthrow and massacre, in 1815, the trace was lost, until accidentally discovered again a few years since.

“It is a remarkable fact also, that the State of Guayana, since the date of its independence from Spain in 1812, has remained free from those internal dissensions and strifes so common in South American states. Its inhabitants are orderly, honest, and industrious; their pursuits pastoral and agricultural, and its rulers men of great political ability and enlarged liberal views.

“The climate of the State is salubrious, and the communications with the mines good; wagons can pass from the river to them in five days, and steamers run every fortnight from the river to England and France in eighteen days, and monthly to New York in twelve days.

“In a scientific point of view the country is most interesting. It is emphatically an unexplored field; its geology, natural history, and botany, almost unknown; pictorially it is very beautiful; protection to life and property absolutely safe; and though somewhat{428} rough in its accommodations, still most interesting to the traveller.

“With such unbounded sources of wealth within its borders, so accessible to the great centres of commerce, and under such an enlightened administration of public affairs, it requires no gift of prophecy to foresee the rapidity of development now opening for the great and prosperous State of Guayana.

“The scenery throughout the canton of Upata partakes more of the pastoral character, its most marked feature being quiet beauty. There are places, such as the site of the mission of Santa Maria, the approach to the Yuruary from Guacipati, the great palm forests near Palmar, and the mountain range of Nuri, which are grand, even sublime; but generally the scene is more park-like, the mountain forms quiet, the savannas sweeping off in long swells, with trees scattered over them singly, in groups, or groves, seemingly as if planted by man for pictorial effect. The valleys are fertile and luxuriant—all the productions of the tropical zone maturing almost without labor; the savannas furnish rich pasturage for tens of thousands of cattle—the forests are prolific in woods of the greatest value—the streams rapid, and their water good.

“The auriferous deposits beyond the Yuruary have been traced from that river through to the Ventuari, about four hundred miles; not, for all this distance, by continuous exploration, but in detached efforts, penetrating from the Orinoco at various points, and always striking the same general system of veins.”{429}

As I understand that Mr. Austin is engaged in writing a book on this important subject, I abstain from further comments in the matter, convinced as I am, that no one is better calculated than himself to enlighten his countrymen respecting a region eminently adapted to the enterprising energy of the Anglo-Saxon race.
“Son árboles y piedras un tesoro,
Los montes plata y las arenas oro.”
Baralt, Oda á Colon.
In its trees and its stones are treasures untold,
Its mountains are silver, its sands are of gold.

Note.—According to the official returns of the State of Guayana which I have before me, the exports of gold through the Custom-house of Ciudad Bolívar for the months of April and May, 1867, amounted to $158,815.00.
By Steamer Pioneer,    1194    ounces,    or    $28.568.00
“““    1800    “    “    43.200.00
“ Bark Rosedale    3627    “    “    87.032.00
     6620         $158.800.00

This much without taking into consideration the vast amounts which are carried away by private individuals, without passing through the Custom-house to avoid the export duty levied on gold by the Venezuelian government.