Embarking on the lake of the Great Cocama, at the junction of the Guallaga and Tunguragua, in Maynas, he went to the confluence of the true and false Maranons, near St. Joachin de Omaguas, (a Spanish fort, at the distance of 180 miles from St. Pablo de Omaguas, the most westerly Portuguese settlement.) Having two canoes with 14 Omaguan Indians to row them, he soon passed into the Ucayale, which he ascended with great resolution, frequently meeting with little fleets of canoes, manned by unknown tribes, from whom it required all his address to escape; and after 14 days' rowing, there appeared on the west a chain of mountains, running south-east and north-west.
In two days after this, he reached the little settlement of Sariacu, among the Panos, then the habitation of Anna Rosa, an Italian lady, educated at Lima; passing this, he reached the river Manoa, which he ascended, with the view of seeing if a passage could be had to Maynas, but it was found almost impracticable, on account of the thick forests, and the precipices; therefore again descending the Maranon, he arrived at the missions of Maynas, after an absence of four months.
In this voyage, Father Girval found that there existed several singular tribes of Indians, of whom the Conibos were nearly as fair as Europeans, but that they were discoloured by the bites of mosquitoes, and by painting their skins. Their customs were much the same as those of the other American Indians, in a state of nature.
In the second voyage of Girval, in 1791, he was unaccompanied by any soldier or white person; and again ascending the Ucayale, found the Casibos, a fierce tribe on the eastern banks, but the Conibos still appeared to be the principal navigators of this part of the stream, and were the most humane; the sound of their rude flutes indicating peace, and a desire to show hospitality.
After passing the Conibos, they met the canoes of the Panos, and sixty of these accompanied him to Anna Rosa's village, where he found that she had built a little convent, and that the tribe obeyed her as their chief, with great devotion.
In twenty days' navigation from Sariacu, in the latitude of Tarma, he found the Piros, whose country produces a species of cinnamon, and in which a settlement has since been made.
Father Girval is said to have passed 400 miles up the Genuine Maranon, from its confluence with the Tunguaragua; to have discovered twenty-five tribes, and to have partly persuaded the Piros, the Chipeos, the Panos, and the Conibos, to become Christians.
He found the worship of most of these tribes to consist in the adoration of the moon, and evil spirits. In war they always choose a chief noted for his courage and capacity, and make prisoners of the women and children of their enemies, slaying the men. Some tribes were gentle and humane, while others resembled tigers more than human beings; of these the Casibos, and Carapochas, were anthropophagi.
The Capaguas, a tribe on the Mague, were said to cook and eat their dead, and yet to be one of the most humane of the savages on the Maranon.
The Pampas del Sacramento are divided from Peru by a lofty chain of mountains, from which they appear so level as to resemble the ocean; they are covered with trees and verdure, and produce balsams, oils, gums, resins, a sort of cinnamon, cacao, cascarilla, and many other excellent drugs, spices, &c.