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82 THE GEEAT RIVER AMAZONS. 



LlB - &quot; equall it. But what shall we say of the great river of Mag- 

 dalena, which falles into the sea betwixt S. Martha and Car- 

 thagena, and with reason is called the great river. Sailing 

 in those parts, I was amazed to see her streame, which was 

 very cleere, runne ten leagues into the sea, being in breadth 

 above two leagues, not mingling nor vanquished with the 

 violent waves of the Ocean. But if we shall speake more of 

 rivers, that great floud called by some the river of Ama 

 zons, by others Marafion, and by some the river of Orel- 

 lana, which our Spaniards sailed in their discoveries, ought 

 to blemish all the rest ; and, in truth, I am in doubt whither 

 I may tearme it a river or a sea. It flowes from the tnoun- 

 taines of Peru, from whence it receiues a great aboundance 

 of water, both of raine and of rivers, which it gathereth into 

 it; then passing by the great plaines of Paytiti, Dorado, 

 and the Amazons, in the end it falles into the Ocean, almost 

 right against the Hand of Marguerita and Trinidad. 1 It 

 hath so large and broad a channel, specially in the last 

 third part of her length, as it contains in it many great 

 Hands. And that which seemes incredible, wliea you saile 

 through the midst of it, you shall see nothing but aire and 

 water. They say, moreover, that from the midst you can 

 not see nor discover with the eye many great and high 

 mountaines which are vpon the bankes, by reason of the 

 great bredtli. We have learned from credible persons the 

 great and wonderfull bredth of this river (which, in my 

 opinion, deserves well the name of Empresse and Queene 

 of all flouds), which was by the report of a brother of our 

 company, who, being then yong, sailed it in the company 

 of Pedro de Ursua, with who nihee was present at all the 



1 Here there is confusion between the Amazon and Orinoco, derived 

 from the story of Aguirre. See my argument in favour of Aguirre 

 having ascended the Rio Negro and come out by the Orinoco, in my 

 Introduction to the Search for El Dorado, p. xlvii. (Hakluyt Society s 

 volume, 1.861.) 



