A.D. THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



1595- 



stones : and for the disease of the stone we also esteeme 

 them. Of these I saw divers in Guiana : and commonly 

 every king or casique hath one, which their wives for 

 the most part weare ; and they esteeme them as great 

 jewels. 



But to returne to the enterprise of Bereo, who (as 

 I have sayd) departed from Nuevo reyno with 700 

 horse, besides the provisions above rehearsed, he 

 descended by the river called Cassanar, which riseth 

 in Nuevo reyno out of the mountaines by the city 

 of Tuvia, from which mountaine also springeth Pato ; 

 both which fall into the great river of Meta : and 

 Meta riseth from a mountaine joyning to Pamplon in 

 the same Nuevo reyno de Granada. These, as also 

 Guaiare, which issueth out of the mountaines by 

 Timana, fall all into Baraquan, and are but of his 

 heads ; for at their comming together they lose their 

 names; and Baraquan farther downe is also rebaptized 

 by the name of Orenoque. On the other side of the 

 city and hilles of Timana riseth Rio grande, which 

 falleth in the sea by Sancta Marta. By Cassonar first, 

 and so into Meta, Berreo passed, keeping his horse- 

 men on the banks, where the countrey served them 

 for to march, and where otherwise, he was driven to 

 imbarke them in boats which he builded for the pur- 

 pose, and so came with the current downe the river 

 of Meta, and so into Baraquan. After he entred that 

 great & mighty river, he began dayly to lose of his 

 companies both men and horse; for it is in many 

 places violently swift, and hath forcible eddies, many 

 sands, and divers Islands sharpe pointed with rocks : 

 but after one whole yeere, journeying for the most 

 part by river, and the rest by land, he grew dayly to 

 fewer numbers ; for both by sicknesse, and by encountring 

 with the people of those regions, thorow which he 

 travelled, his companies were much wasted, especially 

 [III. 639.] by divers encounters with the Amapaians : and in all 

 this time hee never could learne of any passage into 



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