[A] Not good.
[B] Great Lake.
[C] Mother Lake.
[D] Huampu likewise signifies a canoe, and probably a ship might be named Atun huampu, a great canoe.--E.
SECTION II.
Transactions of Pizarro and the Spaniards in Peru, from the commencement of the Conquest, till the departure of Almagro for the Discovery of Chili.
After the return of Don Francisco Pizarro from Spain to Panama, he made every preparation in his power for the conquest of Peru, in which he was not seconded with the same spirit as formerly by his companion Almagro, by which their affairs were considerably retarded, as Almagro was the richer man and had greater credit among the settlers. Diego Almagro, as formerly mentioned, was much dissatisfied with Pizarro for having neglected his interest in his applications to his majesty; but at length became pacified by his apologies and promises, and their friendship was renewed; yet Almagro could never be thoroughly reconciled to the brothers of Pizarro, more especially Ferdinand, against whom he had a rooted dislike. Owing to these disputes a considerable time elapsed; but at length Ferdinand Ponce de Leon[1] fitted out a ship which belonged to him, in which Don Francisco Pizarro embarked with all the soldiers he could procure, which were very few in number, as the people in Panama were much discouraged by the great difficulties and hardships which had been suffered in the former attempt, and the poor success which had then been met with[2]. Pizarro set sail about the commencement of the year 1531; and in consequence of contrary winds was obliged to land on the coast of Peru a hundred leagues more to the north than he intended[3]; by which means he was reduced to the necessity of making a long and painful march down the coast, where he and his troops suffered great hardships from scarcity of provisions, and by the extreme difficulty of crossing the different rivers which intersected their line of march, all of which they had to pass near their mouths, where they are wide and deep, insomuch that both men and horses had often to pass them by swimming. The courage and address of Pizarro was conspicuous amidst these difficulties, by encouraging the soldiers, and frequently exposing himself to danger for their relief, even assisting those who were unable to swim. They arrived at length at a place named Coaque[4] on the sea side, which was well peopled, and where they procured abundance of provisions to refresh and restore them after the hardships and privations they had undergone. From that place, Pizarro sent back one of his vessels to Panama, and the other to Nicaragua, sending by them above 30,000 castillanas[5] of gold, which he had seized at Coaque, to encourage fresh adventurers to join him, by giving a specimen of the riches of the country. At Coaque the Spaniards found some excellent emeralds, as this country being under the line, is the only place where such precious stones are to be had. Several of these were destroyed by the Spaniards, who broke them in order to examine their nature; as they were so ignorant as to believe that good emeralds ought to bear the hammer without breaking, like diamonds. Believing therefore that the Indians might impose false stones upon them, they broke many of great value through their ignorance. The Spaniards were here afflicted by a singular disease, formerly mentioned, which produced a dangerous kind of warts or wens on their heads faces and other parts of their body, extremely sore and loathsome, of which some of the soldiers died, but most of them recovered, though almost every one was less or more affected.
[1] With regard to this person, the original French translator makes the following observation: "Perhaps this is the person named Hernando de Luque at the beginning of the first section, who is said to have been one of the original adventurers in the enterprize. If so, the name of de Luque on the former occasion may be an error of the press."--It must be observed however, that Garcilasso de la Vega names the third person of the original fraternity Hernando de Luque, and makes no mention whatever of Ponce de Leon.--E.
[2] Neither Zarate nor Garcilasso mention the number of troops embarked on this expedition, but we learn from Robertson, II. 206, that the whole armament consisted of 180 soldiers, 36 of whom were horsemen.--E.
[3] According to Robertson, II. 293, Pizarro landed in the bay of St Matthew. The distance of 100 Spanish leagues from Tumbez, mentioned by Garcilasso as the intended place of landing, would lead us to the Rio de Santjago in lat. 1° S. on the coast of Tacames or Esmeraldas. Garcilasso says that Pizarro had two vessels, which he immediately sent back to Panama. But these seem to have accompanied the march of Pizarro to Coaque.--E.