SPANISH LETTERS INTERCEPTED ad. 



1590. 

 Lara of Salamanca. But I was faine to forsake his [III. 564.] 

 companie, by reason I fell sicke in the citie of Mare- 

 quita, where they have discovered the great silver mines : 

 which citie is above 200. leagues from Cartagena : 

 where I remained a certaine time very sicke. And 

 because this countrey is extreme hotte, and I every day 

 grew worse and worse, I was faine to travaile 30. 

 leagues further up into the maine land to a citie called T'he citie of 

 S. Fee in the new kingdom of Granada, being on the ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^ 

 coast of Peru : which is a cold countrey : where I am ^/w^^^ of 

 admitted a procurator, for that the Royal audience is Granada. 

 kept in this citie. So I finde my selfe very healthy of 

 bodie, by reason this countrey is full of all kind of 

 victuals, very good and very plentifull, as bread, cheese, 

 bacon, beefe, great store of hennes, and great store of 

 comfeitures. Onely here is want of golde: so that this 

 countrey will be utterly undone, if the mines of Mare- 

 quita help not to restore the same again : whereof there 

 is good hope : for here is great store of metall already Great store of 

 found, and the workmen are in hand to refine the said ^^^^^^fi^^^^^^^ 

 metal : so that we are in good hope that great store of ofMareauita 

 silver will be found in these mines of great value and 

 profite to his majestie. This river is called the great 

 river of Magdalena. There is a fish in the river called The great 

 Cayman, which followeth after the canoas : and if it can ^yf^ ofUag- 

 reach any man in the canoa, it will haile him out and 

 devoure him. All night they lie in the sand on shore. 

 In this river as we are going up, there is at certaine 

 seasons great store of lightning and thunder, with such 

 abundance of raine, as though the skies would fall 

 downe : and so it doth continue from midnight until 

 morning : so that we are faine to go aboord the canoas, 

 & with certaine broad leaves which grow in the countrey, 

 the mariners make a covering to cast over the wares 

 which are laden in the canoas : and it doth keepe both 

 the raine & sunne from us which are passengers. The 

 canoas are drawen up this river of Magdalena by maine 

 force of the mariners in rowing and haling them with 



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