46 PEOPLING OF THE NEW WORLD. 



LlBtI&amp;gt; suffering myselfe to be guided by the rule of reason, although 

 it be very subtill. It is most certaine that the first men 

 * came to this land of Peru by one of these two meanes, 

 either by land or by sea. If they came by sea, it was 

 casually, and by chance, or willingly, and of purpose. I 

 vnderstand by chance being cast by force of some storme or 

 tempest, as it happens in tempestuous times. I meane 

 done of purpose, when they prepared fleetes to discover 

 new lands. Besides these two meanes I see it is not pos 

 sible to find out any other, if wee will follow the course of 

 humane things and not devise fabulous and poeticall fictions; 

 for no man may thinke to finde another Eagle as that of 

 Uanimede, or a flying Horse like vnto Perseus, that should 

 carie the Indians through the aire ; or that peradventure 

 those first men haue vsed fishes, as Mirtnaids, or the fish 

 called a Nicholas, 1 to passe them thither. But laying aside 

 these imaginations and fopperies, 2 let vs examine these two 

 meanes, the which will bee both pleasant and profitable. First, 

 in my iudgement, it were not farre from reason to say that the 

 first and auncient people of these Indies have dipcovered 

 and peopled after the same sort as wee do at this day, that 

 is, by the Arte of Navigation and aide of Pilots, the which 

 guide themselves by the heigth and knowledge of the hea 

 vens, and by their industrie in handling and changing of 

 their sailes according to the season. Why might not this 

 well be ? Must we beleeve that we alone, and in this our 

 ao*e, have onely the Arte and knowledge to saile through 

 the Ocean ? Wee see even now that they cut through the 

 Ocean to discover new lands, as not long since Alvaro Men- 

 dana and his companions did, who parting from the Port of 

 Lima came alongst the West to discover the land which 

 lieth Eastward from Peru ; and at the end of three moueths 

 they discovered the Hands which they call the Hands of 



1 &quot; Pexes Syrenas y Nicolaos.&quot; 

 * &quot; Platicaa de burlas.&quot; 



