In His Progress Down The River,
Orellana And His People Frequently Landed In Search Of Provisions, And Had
Often To Fight With The Indians, Who Sometimes Even Attacked Him In The
Bark By Means Of Canoes, On Which Occasion The Spaniards Could Hardly
Defend Themselves They Were So Crowded.
On this last account he built a
second bark, at a place where the Indians received him in a friendly
manner and supplied him with provisions.
From these Indians he was
informed of a district a few days journey farther on, which was entirely
inhabited by women, who made war and defended themselves agaist their
neighbours[6].
Following continually the stream of the river, but without finding any
gold or silver, or the least indication of these metals, Orellana arrived
at the mouth of this river on the Atlantic Ocean, about 350 leagues from
the island of Cubagua. This great river is called the Maragnon or Marannon,
from a person of that name who first discovered its mouth. It takes its
rise in Peru on the eastern slopes of the Andes of Quito, and its entire
course measured in a straight line extends to 700 leagues; but following
all its flexures from the Andes to the ocean, it measures at least 1800
leagues. At its mouth it measures 15 leagues in breadth, and in many parts
of its course is three or four leagues broad. Orellana went afterwards
into Spain[7], where he gave an account to his majesty of his discovery,
which he pretended to have made at his own charges.
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