IN THE PERUVIAN MONTAÑA.
Vol. II. To face p. 78.
At a point where the Napo—after the manner of many of these Andine rivers—rushes through a narrow chasm cut like an artificial canal through the last range of the mountains to escape to the plain the band crossed, constructing a frail bridge by the method of felling a huge tree across it, over which men and horses painfully made their way, losing, however, one of their number, an unfortunate Spaniard, who, missing his footing, seized with vertigo, plunged downwards several hundred feet into the boiling torrent which thundered along the rocky gorge.
Little was gained here. There was still no prospect of the promised land. They were spent with toil and hunger; their provisions and their powers were alike exhausted. Tribes of savage Indians were occasionally met, who fought from behind rock or thicket with deadly poisoned arrows; tribes such as still exist to-day in parts of this wild region of the Amazon basin, and which still receive the traveller in similar fashion. To go on or to return—that was the question which now pressed itself on Gonzalo and his companions. But still the insidious tales of gold and plenty lured them on.
At a point where the walls of the Amazon forest closed in impenetrably upon the river verge, as is the natural character of these waterways, monotonous by reason of their enclosure of the trees and creepers, and affording no pathway along their banks, Pizarro called a halt. It was decided that the present mode of progression was impossible. They must take to the stream. A vessel of some sort must be constructed.
Necessity aiding their efforts, the Spaniards, after two months' work, built a "brigantine," a vessel rudely constructed from the timber of the forest joined together with nails from the horses' hoofs, rendered watertight with the tattered clothes of the travellers used in lieu of oakum, soaked in natural gums which abound in the trees, in the place of pitch. This craft was capable of carrying only part of the Spaniards: the remainder must continue to force their way along the shore.
And now we hear of Orellana, destined to navigate the Amazon, in this, the first European vessel—born of the forest, however, and not of any foreign seaport—to float upon its waters, the first white man to do so. For although the mouth of the Amazon had been visited by the Spanish navigator, Pinzon, some time before, in 1500, the river had only been ascended for some fifty out of its several thousand miles of navigable waterway. Orellana, the lieutenant of Gonzalo, was given command of the brigantine, which aided in transporting the weaker members of the party; and thus, floating and journeying, the expedition proceeded onwards.
But food, with the exception of "toads, serpents and a few wild fruits," now gave out entirely. The last horse had been eaten. Famine and death stared the expedition in the face. They could not go on on foot. It was necessary that the vessel should be dispatched to obtain succour from that fruitful land which it was still believed lay but a few days distant, at a point where, according to information obtained from wandering natives, the River Napo united its waters with those of the main stream of the Amazon. Orellana, with fifty of the band, was instructed therefore to descend the river and return with all speed with the much-needed assistance. He embarked, and the brigantine and its company disappeared from view round a bend of the river.
This was the last that Gonzalo and his remaining companions ever saw of the vessel. They waited for weeks, supporting themselves heaven knows how, day by day straining their eyes, hoping to see the form of the returning bark upon the waters, but all was in vain.
Meantime, Orellana and his crew, borne down by the swift current, reached in three days the point of confluence of the Napo and Amazon, a mighty flood of waters, but there was no sign of the land of promise, and instead of being able to load up with provisions and return, he could barely obtain sustenance for his ship's company; nor did it seem possible to make his way back against the current. What should he do? Were it not better to proceed on his way, descend the river to its mouth, reach the Atlantic, proceed to Spain and the Court, and cover himself with glory as the discoverer of the great Amazon and all the vast territory it traversed might contain? Eagerly his companions accepted the idea. As to those left behind they must succour themselves, and turning their prow downstream again the brigantine pursued its way, swept along for two thousand miles by the vast waters of the river.