WHOLE VOL. THE WEST INDIES VAZQUEZ DE ESl'lNOSA 65 



168. Besides the provinces described near the River Orinoco, 130 

 leagues inland from the city of Santo Tome, in the plains one hears 

 great tales of the Province of Caranaca and other large cities ; and 

 at various times many captains of the Province of Venezuela have 

 set out for it, and especially from Caracas, as a result of the great 

 stories circulating about its wealth in gold, silver, and other valu- 

 ables, and the numerous tribes and towns in it, on the banks of a 

 large lake ; but they never were able to reach it or explore it, because 

 of the wide extent of country intervening, until, in the year 1621, 

 Don Fernando de Berrio left the city of Santo Tome, Guiana, with 

 70 soldiers, attracted by the great stories and tales related to him 

 by the Indians of the provinces bordering on the Orinoco, and in 

 particular, the Ajaguas, regarding the great wealth and the cities of 

 Caranaca ; and when he had traveled up the River Orinoco till he 

 reached the Province of the Ajaguas with his forces, he struck up 

 the Rio Apurisarare ; and on its banks he found a settlement half a 

 league long, where many Indians had been fishing ; he captured one 

 of those who had stayed at the settlement, who gave him an accurate 

 account of Caranaca ; that there were innumerable Indians living in 

 its large cities on the banks of a lake lying near low mountain ranges, 

 and that his expedition was tiny compared with the great numbers 

 of people there ; and to make his meaning clearer, he took some hand- 

 fuls of sand and said that just as it was impossible to count their 

 grains and particles, so it was to count the Indians and the towns 

 to be found there; that there was great wealth there of gold, silver, 

 and precious stones, and other valuables, and that if they went there, 

 they would all be killed ; and the Governor, in order to get greater 

 confirmation of what the Indian had told him, pressed on to explore 

 the country, and after 3 or 4 leagues of progress, he found many 

 roads well trodden and traveled, and crossing one another, and that 

 there were large settlements of those tribes ; whereupon, being con- 

 vinced that the information and the account which the Indian had 

 given him was true, he decided to turn back and return another 

 summer on a more propitious occasion and better provided with men, 

 arms, and other things needful for the conquest and exploration for 

 which he felt responsible. He went back to the city of Santo Tome, 

 Guiana, in his State, and decided he would proceed from there to 

 Spain to render an account to His Majesty ; and on his journey he 

 was captured and taken to Algiers, where he died. This caused the 

 suspension of exploration in such rich provinces as those of Caranaca 

 and Manoa or El Dorado, until it may please God so to dispose and 

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