821 



of Dorado from the tableland of Bogota), di- 

 rected his course from north to south, by 

 the road which Speier had taken to the east- 

 ern side of the mountains. Huten left Coro, 

 the principal seat of the German factory, or 

 company of Welser, when Henry Remboldt was 

 it's director. After having traversed (1541) the 

 plains of Casanare, the Meta, and the Caguan, 

 he arrived at the banks of the Upper Guaviare 

 (Guayuare), a river which was long believed to 

 be the source of the Oroonoko, and the mouth 

 of which I saw in passing by San Fernando de 

 Atabapo to the Rio Negro. Not far from the 

 right bank of the Guaviare Huten entered Ma- 

 catoa, the city of the Guapes. The people there 

 were clothed, the fields appeared well cultivat 

 ed; every thing denoted a degree of civi- 

 lization unknown in the hot region of Ame- 

 rica, which extends to the east of the Cor- 

 dilleras. Speier, in his expedition to the Rio 

 Caqueta and the province of Papamene, had 

 probably crossed the Guaviare far above Maca- 

 toa, before the junction of the two branches of 

 this river, the Ariari and the Guyavero. Huten 

 was told, that on advancing more to the south- 

 east he would enter the territory of the great 

 nation of the Omaguas, the priest king of which 

 was called Quareca, and which possessed nume- 

 rous herds of lamas. These traces of cultiva- 

 tion, these ancient resemblances to the tableland 



