From That Place They
Passed Over A Chain Of Cold And Snowy Mountains, Where They Found Many
Indians Frozen To Death, And They Wondered Much At Finding So Much Snow
Immediately Under The Equinoctial Line.
From thence they proceeded to a
province called _Cumaco_, where they were detained two months on account
of constant rain; and beyond this, they came to the cinnamon trees, which
are of great size, with leaves resembling those of the bay tree.
The
leaves, branches, roots, and every part of this tree, tasted like cinnamon,
but this taste and flavour was particularly strong in the root; yet that
was still stronger in certain knobs, like _alcornoques_, or acorns, which
were good merchandize. This appears to have been of the same nature with
wild cinnamon, of which there is great abundance in the East Indies,
particularly in the island of _Jaoa_, or Java. From this cinnamon country,
they proceeded onwards to the province and city of Coca, where they halted
for fifty days; after which they travelled for sixty leagues along a river,
without being able to find any bridge or ford at which they could pass
over. In one place they found this river to form a cataract of 200 fathoms
in perpendicular fall, making such a noise as was almost sufficient to
deafen any person who stood near. Not far beyond this fall, the river was
found to glide in a smooth channel, worn out of the rock; and at this
place they constructed a bridge by which they passed to the other side,
and entered into a country called Guema, which was so poor, that they
could only get fruit and herbs to subsist upon. Travelling onwards from
that place, they came to a district where the people had some degree of
civilization, and wore cotton clothing of their own manufacture, and used
canoes. They here built a brigantine, in which, and in some canoes,
procured or taken from the natives, they embarked their sick, with their
treasure, provisions, and spare apparel, under the charge of Francis de
Orellana; while Gonsalvo Pizarro marched by land with the rest of the
people along the river, going every night into the boats. In this manner
they proceeded for about 200 leagues; when one night, on coming to the
river side, in hopes of joining the boats as usual, Pizarro could not see
or hear of them. He and his people were reduced, by this unfortunate
incident, to a state of almost utter despair: In a strange, poor, and
barren country, without provisions, clothing, or any other convenience,
and at a vast distance from their friends, with a prodigious extent of
difficult and dangerous road interposed between them and Quito, they were
reduced to the necessity of eating their horses, and even their dogs. Yet
holding a good heart, they proceeded onwards in their journey for eighteen
months, penetrating, as is said, almost 500 leagues, without ever seeing
the sun or any thing else to comfort them.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 81 of 427
Words from 42014 to 42514
of 224388
