AD. THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



1572-87. 



the countrey so full of people, but they tooke many 

 Canoas, wherein they had great store of victuals and 

 some golde. 



Now this Orellana commi ng unto Margarita with these 

 good newes and riches, determined not to returne unto 

 his Captaine Pizarro which sent him, but tooke his way 

 from thence to the king of Spaine, and presented him 

 with the golde that he brought out of the river : where- 

 upon the king sent him with a fleete of shippes and sixe 

 hundred men to inhabite the sayd river: but because 

 of the great current and sholdes that are therein, hee 

 left the most part of his men and shippes, and with 

 those that remained he went unto certaine Ilandes hard 

 by the river, and built him Pinnesses ; but the countrey 

 being very unhealthfull, himselfe and many of his men 

 dyed, and the residue went every man which way pleased 

 him best. The fame of this river was straightway spread 

 through Spaine and Portugal, insomuch that a Gentleman 

 Lems de of Portugall called Lewis de Melo asked license of Don 

 Juan the third, then king of Portugall to goe and con- 

 quere the sayd river : for from the mouth of this river 

 to the mouth of the river of Plate, is that part of America 

 which the kings of Portugall (according to the partition 

 made betweene them and the kings of Spaine) doe holde : 

 so that the king of Portugall having this river in his part 

 gave it to the saide Lewis de Melo to conquere : who 

 taking tenne ships and eight hundred men (among which 

 many were gentlemen) and comming to the mouth 

 of this river, lost all the said ships saving two, in one 

 of the which two was Lewis de Melo himselfe : also 

 the most part of the men that were in the ships cast away 

 were saved and got to the shore, and so went by lande to 

 the Hand of Margarita ; from whence they were dis- 

 persed throughout all the Indies. 



Thus these two fleetes of shippes being so unfortunately 

 cast away, never durst any Captaine afterward attempt by 

 sea to conquer the sayde river. Howbeit from the king- 

 dome of Nueva Granada before mentioned there have 



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