TESTIMONIES OF THE AMAZON ad. 



1590. 

 of the river, men can see nothing but the skle and the 

 river, although men say that there are hilles neere the 

 bankes thereof, which can not be kenned, through the 

 greatnesse of the River. Wee understood by very good 

 meanes the wonderfull bredth and largenesse of this 

 River, which justly may bee called the Emperour of 

 Rivers, to wit by a brother of our companie, which 

 being a boy was there, & sayled it wholy through, being 

 personally present in all the successes of that strange 

 enterance, which Pedro de Orsua made, and in the 

 mutinies and perilous conspiracies of that wicked Diego 

 de Aguirre, out of all which troubles and dangers the 

 Lord delivered him, to make him one of our societie. 



The second Testimonie out of Josephus de 

 Acosta, lib. 3. cap. 20. 



AMong all the rivers not onely of the West Indies 

 but also of the whole world, the chief is the River 

 of Marannon or of the Amazones, whereof I have spoken 

 in the second booke. The Spaniards have divers times 

 sayled along this river, with determination to discover 

 countries, which, according to report, are of great riches, 

 especially that which they call Dorado, and Paytiti. The 

 Adelantado or admirall Juan de Salinas made a very 

 notable entrance, although to small profite. It hath 

 a salt or fall of water which they call El Pongo, which El Pongo. 

 is one of the most dangerous places in the world : for 

 being restrained betweene two exceeding hie devided 

 mountaines, it maketh a fall of terrible depth where the 

 water with t;he great descent maketh such whirlepooles 

 that it seemeth impossible but that it should sinke it self 

 there into the ground. For all this the boldnes of men 

 hath attempted to passe the said El Pongo for the 

 greedines to come to that so famous renowmed Dorado. 

 They suffered themselves to bee caryed from aloft, being 

 throwne downe headlong with the furie of the river, and 

 sitting fast in their Canoas or boats in which they sayled, 

 although they were overturned in the fal, and they and 



XI 17 B 



