BEAVERS, BUFFALOES, MOSQUITOES.
The beavers were in great numbers along the banks of the river, and through the night were flapping their tails in the water round the boats.
Aug. 1.—The buffaloes appeared in vast numbers. A herd happened to be on their way across the river. Such was the multitude of these animals, that although the river, including an island over which they passed, was a mile in width, the herd stretched, as thick as they could swim, completely from oneside to the other. Our party, descending the river, was obliged to stop for an hour to let the procession pass. We consoled ourselves for the delay by killing four of the herd, and then proceeded, till, at the distance of forty-five miles, two other herds of buffaloes, as numerous as the first, crossed the river in like manner.
Aug. 4.—The camp became absolutely uninhabitable, in consequence of the multitude of mosquitoes. The men could not work in preparing skins for clothing, nor hunt in the low grounds: in short, there was no mode of escape, except by going on the sand bars in the river, where, if the wind should blow, the insects do not venture. But when there is no wind, and particularly at night, when the men have no covering except their worn-out blankets, the pain they inflict is scarcely to be endured.
On one occasion, Capt. Clarke went on shore, and ascended a hill after one of the bighorns; but the mosquitoes were in such multitudes, that he could not keep them from the barrel of his rifle long enough to take aim.
This annoyance continued, till, on the 11th of September, they write, "We are no longer troubled with mosquitoes, which do not seem to frequent this partof the river; and, after having been persecuted with them during the whole route from the falls, it is a most happy exemption. Their noise was very agreeably exchanged for that of the wolves, which were howling in various directions all round us."
Aug. 12, 1806.—The party continued to descend the river. One of their canoes had, by accident, a small hole made in it; and they halted for the purpose of covering it with a piece of elk-skin. While there, about noon, they were overjoyed at seeing the boats of Capt. Lewis's party heave in sight. The whole expedition being now happily re-united, at about three o'clock all embarked on board the boats; but as the wind was high, accompanied with rain, we did not proceed far before we halted for the night.
THEY PART WITH SOME OF THEIR COMPANIONS.
On the 14th August, having now reached a part of the river where we occasionally met the boats of adventurous traders ascending the river, Capt. Lewis was applied to by one of the men, Colter, who was desirous of joining two trappers, who proposed to him to accompany them, and share their profits. The offer was an advantageous one; and as he had always performed his duty, and his services might bedispensed with, Capt. Lewis consented to his going, provided none of the rest would ask or expect a similar indulgence. To this they cheerfully answered, that they wished Colter every success, and would not apply for a discharge before we reached St. Louis. We therefore supplied him, as did his comrades also, with powder and lead, and a variety of articles which might be useful to him; and he left us the next day.
The example of this man shows how easily men may be weaned from the habits of civilized life, and brought to relish the manners of the woods. This hunter had now been absent many years from his country, and might naturally be presumed to have some desire to return to his native seats; yet, just at the moment when he is approaching the frontiers, he is tempted by a hunting-scheme to go back to the solitude of the woods.
A few days after this, Chaboneau, with his wife and child, concluded to follow us no longer, as he could be no longer useful to us. We offered to take him with us to the United States; but he said that he had there no acquaintance, and preferred remaining among the Indians. This man has been very serviceable to us, and his wife particularly so, among the Shoshonees. She has borne with a patience trulyadmirable the fatigues of our long journey, encumbered with the charge of an infant, which is now only nineteen months old. We paid him his wages, amounting to five hundred dollars and thirty-three cents, including the price of a horse and a lodge purchased of him, and pursued our journey without him.
THEY REACH HOME.
Sept. 8, 1806.—We reached Council Bluffs, and stopped for a short time to examine the situation of the place, and were confirmed in our belief that it would be a very eligible spot for a trading establishment.[4]Being anxious to reach the junction of the Platte River, we plied our oars so well, that by night we had made seventy-eight miles, and landed at our old encampment, on the ascent, twelve miles above that river. We had here occasion to remark the wonderful evaporation from the Missouri. The river does not appear to contain more water, nor is its channel wider, than at the distance of one thousand miles nearer its source, although within that space it receives about twenty rivers (some of them of considerable width), and a great number of smaller streams.
A few days more brought us to the mouth of the Kansas River. About a mile below it, we landed to view the country. The low grounds are delightful, the whole country exhibiting a rich appearance; but the weather was oppressively warm. Descending as we had done from a high, open country, between the latitudes of forty-six and forty-nine degrees, to the wooded plains in thirty-eight and thirty-nine degrees, the heat would have been intolerable, had it not been for the constant winds from the south and the south-west.
On the 20th September, we reached the mouth of Osage River. A few miles lower down, we saw on the banks some cows feeding; and the whole party involuntarily raised a shout of joy at the sight of this evidence of civilization and domestic life.
We soon after reached the little French village of La Charette, which we saluted with a discharge of four guns and three hearty cheers. We landed, and were received with kindness by the inhabitants, as well as by some traders who were on their way to traffic with the Osages. They were all surprised and pleased at our arrival; for they had long since abandoned all hopes of ever seeing us return.
The third day after this,—viz., on Tuesday, the 23dof September, 1806,—we arrived at St. Louis, and, having fired a salute, went on shore, and received the heartiest and most hospitable welcome from the whole village.
CONCLUSION.
The successful termination of the expedition was a source of surprise and delight to the whole country. The humblest of its citizens had taken a lively interest in the issue of this journey, and looked forward with impatience for the information it would furnish. Their anxieties, too, for the safety of the party, had been kept in a state of excitement by lugubrious rumors, circulated from time to time on uncertain authorities, and uncontradicted by letters or other direct information, from the time when the party left the Mandan towns, on their ascent up the river, in 1804, until their actual return to St. Louis.
The courage, perseverance, and discretion displayed by the commanders, and the fidelity and obedience of the men, were the theme of general approbation, and received the favorable notice of Government. A donation of lands was made to each member of the party; Capt. Lewis was appointed Governor of Louisiana, which, at that time, embracedthe whole country west of the Mississippi, within the boundaries of the United States; and Capt. Clarke was made Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
It was not until some years after, however, that the world was put in possession of the detailed history of the expedition. Capt. Lewis, in the midst of other cares, devoted what time he could to the preparation of his journals for publication, and, in 1809, was on his way to Philadelphia for that purpose, but, at a village in Tennessee, was taken ill, and prevented from proceeding. Here the energetic mind, which had encountered so unfalteringly the perils and sufferings of the desert, gave way. Constitutional despondency overcame him: it is probable he lost his reason; for, in a rash moment, he applied a pistol to his head, and destroyed his life. His journals were published under the charge of Paul Allen of Philadelphia.
[4]Now the site of Omaha City.
[4]Now the site of Omaha City.
What is meant by Eldorado? Is there such a country? and, if there be, where is it? The name literally means "The Golden Country," and was given to an unknown region in South America by the Spaniards, who had heard from the Indians marvellous tales of such a land lying in the interior of the continent, where gold and precious stones were as common as rocks and pebbles in other countries, and to be had for the trouble of picking them up. It was also a land of spices and aromatic gums. The first notion of this favored region was communicated by an Indian chief to Gonzalo Pizarro, brother of the conqueror of Peru, whose imagination was captivated by the account, and his ambition fired with a desire to add this, which promised to be the mostbrilliant of all, to the discoveries and conquests of his countrymen. He found no difficulty in awakening a kindred enthusiasm in the bosoms of his followers. In a short time, he mustered three hundred and fifty Spaniards, and four thousand Indians. One hundred and fifty of his company were mounted. The Indians were to carry the baggage and provisions, and perform the labors of the expedition.
A glance at the map of South America will give us a clear idea of the scene of the expedition. The River Amazon, the largest river of the globe, rises in the highest ranges of the Andes, and flows from west to east through nearly the whole breadth of the continent. Pizarro's expedition started in the year 1540 from Quito, near the sources of the great river, and, marching east, soon became entangled in the deep and intricate passes of the mountains. As they rose into the more elevated regions, the icy winds that swept down the sides of the Cordilleras benumbed their limbs, and many of the natives found a wintry grave in the wilderness. On descending the eastern slope, the climate changed; and, as they came to a lower level, the fierce cold was succeeded by a suffocating heat, while tempests of thunder and lightning poured on them with scarcely any intermission dayor night. For more than six weeks, the deluge continued unabated; and the forlorn wanderers, wet, and weary with incessant toil, were scarcely able to drag their limbs along the soil, broken up as it was, and saturated with the moisture. After months of toilsome travel, they reached the region where grew the spice-trees. Their produce resembled the cinnamon of the East in taste, but was of inferior quality. They saw the trees bearing the precious bark spreading out into broad forests; yet, however valuable it might be for future commerce, it was of but little worth to them. But, from the savages whom they occasionally met, they learned, that at ten days' distance was a rich and fruitful land, abounding with gold, and inhabited by populous nations. The Spaniards were so convinced of the existence of such a country, that if the natives, on being questioned, professed their ignorance of it, they were supposed to be desirous of concealing the fact, and were put to the most horrible tortures, and even burnt alive, to compel them to confess. It is no wonder, therefore, if they told, in many instances, such stories as the Spaniards wished to hear, which would also have the effect of ridding their own territories of their troublesome guests by inducing them to advance farther. Pizarro hadalready reached the limit originally proposed for the expedition; but these accounts induced him to continue on.
As they advanced, the country spread out into broad plains, terminated by forests, which seemed to stretch on every side as far as the eye could reach. The wood was thickly matted with creepers and climbing plants, and at every step of the way they had to hew open a passage with their axes; while their garments, rotting from the effects of the drenching rains, caught in every bush, and hung about them in shreds. Their provisions failed, and they had only for sustenance such herbs and roots as they could gather in the forest, and such wild animals as, with their inadequate means, they could capture.
At length they came to a broad expanse of water, from whence flowed a stream,—one of those which discharge their waters into the great River Amazon. The sight gladdened their hearts, as they hoped to find a safer and more practicable route by keeping along its banks. After following the stream a considerable distance, the party came within hearing of a rushing noise, that seemed like thunder issuing from the bowels of the earth. The river tumbled along over rapids with frightful velocity, and thendischarged itself in a magnificent cataract, which they describe as twelve hundred feet high. Doubtless this estimate must be taken with some allowance for the excited feelings of the Spaniards, keenly alive to impressions of the sublime and the terrible.
For some distance above and below the falls, the bed of the river contracted; so that its width did not exceed twenty feet. They determined to cross, in hopes of finding a country that might afford them better sustenance. A frail bridge was constructed by throwing trunks of trees across the chasm, where the cliffs, as if split asunder by some convulsion of Nature, descended sheer down a perpendicular depth of several hundred feet. Over this airy causeway, the men and horses succeeded in effecting their passage; though one Spaniard, made giddy by heedlessly looking down, lost his footing, and fell into the boiling surges below. They gained little by the exchange. The country wore the same unpromising aspect: the Indians whom they occasionally met in the pathless wilderness were fierce and unfriendly, and the Spaniards were engaged in perpetual conflict with them. From these they learned that a fruitful country was to be found down the river, at the distance of only a few days' journey; and the Spaniards held on theirweary way, still hoping, and still deceived, as the promised land flitted before them, like the rainbow, receding as they advanced.
At length, spent with toil and suffering, Pizarro resolved to construct a bark large enough to transport the weaker part of his company and his baggage. The forests furnished him with timber; the shoes of the horses, which had died on the road, or been slaughtered for food, were converted into nails; gum, distilled from the trees, took the place of pitch; and the tattered garments of the soldiers served for oakum. At the end of two months, the vessel was ready, and the command given to Francisco Orellana. The troops now moved forward through the wilderness, following the course of the river; the vessel carrying the feebler soldiers. Every scrap of provisions had long since been consumed. The last of their horses had been devoured; and they greedily fed upon toads, serpents, and even insects, which that country, teeming with the lower forms of animal life, abundantly supplied.
The natives still told of a rich district, inhabited by a populous nation. It was, as usual, at the distance of several days' journey; and Pizarro resolved to halt where he was, and send Orellana down in hisbrigantine to procure a stock of provisions, with which he might return, and put the main body in condition to resume their march. Orellana, with fifty of the adventurers, pushed off into the middle of the river, where the stream ran swiftly; and his bark, taken by the current, shot forward as with the speed of an arrow, and was soon out of sight.
Days and weeks passed away, yet the vessel did not return; and no speck was to be seen on the waters as the Spaniards strained their eyes to the farthest point, till the banks closed in, and shut the view. Detachments were sent out, and, though absent several days, came back without intelligence of their comrades. Weary of suspense, Pizarro determined to continue their march down the river, which they did, with incredible suffering, for two months longer, till their doubts were dispelled by the appearance of a white man, wandering, half naked, in the woods, in whose famine-stricken countenance they recognized the features of one of their countrymen. Orellana had passed swiftly down the river to the point of its confluence with the Amazon, where he had been led to expect that he should find supplies for the wants of himself and his companions, but found none. Nor was it possible to return as hehad come, and make head against the current of the river. In this dilemma, a thought flashed across his mind: it was, to leave the party under Pizarro to their fate, and to pursue his course down the great river on which he had entered; to explore Eldorado for himself, and make the best of his way home to Spain to claim the glory and reward of discovery. His reckless companions readily consented to this course, with the exception of the individual whom Pizarro found; and him, when he remonstrated, they put ashore, and left to shift for himself.
Pizarro and his party, deserted in the wilderness, unable to advance farther, had no alternative but to remain, or retrace their miserable way to Quito, the place they had started from more than a year before. They chose the latter, and commenced their return march with heavy hearts. They took a more northerly route than that by which they had approached the Amazon; and, though it was attended with fewer difficulties, they experienced yet greater distresses, from their greater inability to overcome them. Their only food was such scanty fare as they could pick up in the forest, or happily meet with in some forsaken Indian settlement, or wring by violence from the natives. Some sickened and sank down by the way,and perished where they fell; for there was none to help them. Intense misery had made them selfish; and many a poor wretch was abandoned to his fate, to die alone in the wilderness, or, more probably, to be devoured, while living, by the wild animals which roamed over it.
It took them a year to measure back their way to Quito; and the miseries they had endured were testified to by their appearance when they arrived, in sadly reduced numbers, at the place of their starting. Their horses gone, their arms broken and rusted, the skins of wild animals their only clothes, their long and matted locks streaming wildly down their shoulders, their faces blackened by the tropical sun, their bodies wasted by famine and disfigured by scars, it seemed as if the charnel-house had given up its dead, as, with unsteady step, they crept slowly onwards. More than half of the four thousand Indians who had accompanied the expedition had perished; and of the Spaniards, only eighty, and many of these irretrievably broken in constitution, found their way back to Quito.
Meanwhile, Orellana glided down the stream, which then was nameless and unknown, but which has since been called by his name, though it is more generallyknown by a name derived from a story which Orellana told, in his account of his voyage, of a nation of Amazons inhabiting its banks. But an account of Orellana's adventures must be reserved for our next chapter.
When Orellana, in his ill-appointed bark, and with his crew enfeebled by famine, had reached the junction of the River Napo with the Amazon, and found no sources of supply which he had been led to expect, he had no difficulty in satisfying his companions that their only chance of preservation was in continuing their descent of the river, and leaving the party under Pizarro to their fate. He then formally renounced the commission which Pizarro had given him, and received the command anew from the election of his men, that so he might make discoveries for himself, and not, holding a deputed authority, in the name of another. It was upon the last day of December, 1541, that this voyage was begun,—one of the most adventurous that has ever been undertaken. The little stock of provisions with which they had parted from the army was already exhausted, and theyboiled their leathern girdles and the leather of their shoes with such herbs as seemed most likely to be nourishing and harmless; for it was only by experiment that they were able to distinguish the wholesome from the poisonous. On the 8th of January, being reduced almost to the last extremity with hunger, they heard before daylight an Indian drum,—a joyful sound; for be the natives what they would, friendly or hostile, this they knew, that it must be their own fault now if they should die of hunger. At daybreak, being eagerly upon the lookout, they perceived four canoes, which put back upon seeing the brigantine; and presently they saw a village where a great body of the natives were assembled, and appeared ready to defend it. The Spaniards were too hungry to negotiate. Orellana bade them land in good order, and stand by each other. They attacked the Indians like men who were famishing, and fought for food, put them speedily to the rout, and found an immediate supply. While they were enjoying the fruits of their victory, the Indians came near them, more to gratify curiosity than resentment. Orellana spoke to them in some Indian language which they partly understood. Some of them took courage, and approached him. He gave them a few Europeantrifles, and asked for their chief, who came without hesitation, was well pleased with the presents which were given him, and offered them any thing which it was in his power to supply. Provisions were requested; and presently peacocks, partridges, fish, and other things, were brought in great abundance. The next day, thirteen chiefs came to see the strangers. They were gayly adorned with feathers and gold, and had plates of gold upon the breast. Orellana received them courteously, required them to acknowledge obedience to the crown of Castile, took advantage as usual of their ignorance to affirm that they consented, and took possession of their country in the emperor's name.
Such is Orellana's own account of this first interview. It was his object to create a high idea of the riches of the provinces which he had discovered. It is not probable that these tribes had any gold; for later discoveries showed that none of the tribes on the Amazon were so far advanced as to use it. It was here that they heard the first accounts of the rich and powerful nation composed wholly of women, whom, in recollection of the female warriors of classic antiquity, they called the Amazons. Here the Spaniards built a better brigantine than the frail one in whichthey were embarked. All fell to work, Orellana being the first at any exertion that was required. They calked it with cotton; the natives supplied pitch; and in thirty-five days the vessel was launched. On the 24th of April, they once more embarked. For eighty leagues, the banks were peopled with friendly tribes; then the course of the river lay between desert mountains, and they were fain to feed upon herbs and parched corn, not even finding a place where they could fish.
Thus far they seem to have found the natives friendly, or not actively hostile; but, as they descended, they came to a populous province, belonging to a chief called Omagua, if, as is conjectured, that is not rather the name of the tribe itself than of their chief. One morning, a fleet of canoes was seen advancing with hostile demonstrations. The Indians carried shields made of the skins of the alligator. They came on with beat of tambour and with war-cries, threatening to devour the strangers. The Spaniards brought their two vessels close together, that they might aid one another in the defence. But, when they came to use their powder, it was damp, and they had nothing but their cross-bows to trust to; and, plying these as well as they could, they continued to fall down thestream, fighting as they went. Presently they came to an Indian town. Half the Spaniards landed to attack it, leaving their companions to maintain the fight upon the water.
They won the town, and loaded themselves with provisions; but eighteen of the party were wounded, and one killed. They had neither surgeon nor any remedy for the wounded. Nothing could be done for them except "psalming;" that is, repeating some verses of the psalms over the wound. This mode of treatment was not unusual; and, as it was less absurd than the methods which were ordinarily in use at that day, it is no wonder if it proved more successful.
For two days and two nights after this, they were constantly annoyed by the canoes of the natives following, and endeavoring to board them. But the Spaniards had now dried some powder; and one of them, getting a steady mark at the chief of the Indians, shot him in the breast. His people gathered round him; and, while they were thus occupied, the brigantines shot ahead.
Thus they proceeded with alternate good and evil fortune, now finding the Indians friendly, and supplies of provisions abundant; and then encountering hostile tribes which assailed them with all their power, orlong regions of unpeopled country, where they were reduced to the utmost straits for want of food. Six months had now been consumed on their voyage, and as yet no appearance of Eldorado; though, if their accounts may be trusted, they several times came upon populous places, which had many streets, all opening upon the river, and apparently leading to some greater city in the interior. On the 22d of June, on turning an angle of the river, they saw the country far before them, and great numbers of people collected, seemingly with hostile intentions. Orellana offered them trinkets, at which they scoffed; but he persisted in making towards the shore to get food, either by persuasion or force. A shower of arrows was discharged from the shore, which wounded five of the crew. They nevertheless landed, and, after a hot contest, repulsed the natives, killing some seven or eight of them. The historian of the voyage, who was one of the adventurers, affirms that ten or twelve Amazons fought at the head of these people, who were their subjects, and fought desperately; because any one who fled in battle would be beaten to death by these female tyrants. He describes the women as very tall and large-limbed, white of complexion, the hair long, platted, and banded round the head. It isamusing to observe how this story was magnified by later narrators, who learned it only by tradition. It is stated in these late accounts that Orellana fought on this occasion with a great army of women.
Of a prisoner whom they took, Orellana asked questions about Eldorado and the Amazons, and got, as usual, such answers as he expected. This may partly be set down to the score of self-deception, and partly to the fact that they conversed with these people by signs, and by means of the few words of their language which the Spaniards knew, or supposed they knew, the meaning of. He learned from the prisoner that the country was subject to women, who lived after the manner of the Amazons of the ancients, and who possessed gold and silver in abundance. There were in their dominions fine temples of the sun, all covered with plates of gold. Their houses were of stone, and their cities walled. We can hardly doubt that the desire to tempt adventurers to join him in his subsequent expedition to conquer and colonize those countries had its effect in magnifying these marvels.
Shortly after this, the Spaniards thought they perceived thetide. After another day's voyage, they came to some inhabited islands, and, to their infinitejoy, saw that they had not been mistaken; for the marks of the tide here were certain. Here they lost another of their party in a skirmish with the natives. From this place the country was low; and they could never venture to land, except upon the islands, among which they sailed, as they supposed, about two hundred leagues; the tide coming up with great force. One day the smaller vessel struck upon a snag, which stove in one of her planks, and she filled. They, however, landed to seek for provisions; but the inhabitants attacked them with such force, that they were forced to retire; and, when they came to their vessels, they found that the tide had left the only serviceable one dry. Orellana ordered half his men to fight, and the other half to thrust the vessel into the water: that done, they righted the old brigantine, and fastened in a new plank, all which was completed in three hours, by which time the Indians were weary of fighting, and left them in peace. The next day they found a desert place, where Orellana halted to repair both vessels. This took them eighteen days, during which they suffered much from hunger.
As they drew near the sea, they halted again for fourteen days, to prepare for their sea-voyage; made cordage of herbs; and sewed the cloaks, on which theyslept, into sails. On the 8th of August, they proceeded again, anchoring with stones when the tide turned, though it sometimes came in such strength as to drag these miserable anchors. Here the natives were happily of a milder mood than those whom they had lately dealt with. From them they procured roots and Indian corn; and, having laid in what store they could, they made ready to enter upon the sea in these frail vessels, with their miserable tackling, and with insufficient food, without pilot, compass, or any knowledge of the coast.
It was on the 26th of August that they sailed out of the river, passing between two islands, which were about four leagues asunder. The whole length of the voyage from the place where they had embarked to the sea they computed at eighteen hundred leagues. Thus far their weather had been always favorable, and it did not fail them now. They kept along the coast to the northward, just at safe distance. The two brigantines parted company in the night. They in the larger one got into the Gulf of Paria, from whence all their labor at the oar for seven days could not extricate them. During this time, they lived upon a sort of plum called "nogos," being the only food they could find. At length they were whirledthrough those tremendous channels which Columbus called the "Dragon's mouths," and, September the 11th, not knowing where they were, reached the Island of Cubagua, where they found a colony of their countrymen. The old brigantine had arrived at the same place two days before them. Here they were received with the welcome which their wonderful adventure deserved; and from hence Orellana proceeded to Spain, to give the king an account of his discoveries in person.
Orellana arrived safe in Spain, and was favorably received. His act of insubordination in leaving his commander was forgotten in the success of his achievement; for it had been successful, even if the naked facts only had been told, inasmuch as it was the first event which led to any certain knowledge of the immense regions that stretch eastward from the Andes to the ocean, besides being in itself one of the most brilliant adventures of that remarkable age. But Orellana's accounts went far beyond these limits, and confirming all previous tales of the wonderful Eldorado, with its temples roofed with gold, and its mountains composed of precious stones, drew to his standard numerous followers. Every thing promised fairly. The king granted him a commission to conquer the countries which he had explored. He raised funds for the expedition, and evenfound a wife who was willing to accompany him in May, 1544, he set sail with four ships and four hundred men.
But the tide of Orellana's fortune had turned. He stopped three months at Teneriffe, and two at the Cape de Verde, where ninety-eight of his people died, and fifty were invalided. The expedition proceeded with three ships, and met with contrary winds, which detained them till their water was exhausted; and, had it not been for heavy rains, all must have perished. One ship put back in this distress, with seventy men and eleven horses on board, and was never heard of after. The remaining two reached the river. Having ascended about a hundred leagues, they stopped to build a brigantine. Provisions were scarce here, and fifty-seven more of his party died. These men were not, like his former comrades, seasoned to the climate, and habituated to the difficulties of the new world. One ship was broken up here for the materials: the other met with an accident, and became unserviceable; and they cut her up, and made a bark of the timbers.
Orellana meanwhile, in the brigantine, was endeavoring to discover the main branch of the river, which it had been easy to keep when carried down by thestream, but which he now sought in vain for thirty days among a labyrinth of channels. When he returned from this fruitless search, he was ill, and told his people that he would go back to Point St. Juan; and there he ordered them to seek him when they had got the bark ready. But he found his sickness increase upon him, and determined to abandon the expedition, and return to Europe. While he was seeking provisions for the voyage, the Indians killed seventeen of his men. What with vexation and disorder, he died in the river. This sealed the fate of the expedition. The survivors made no further exertions to reach Eldorado, but returned to their own country as they could. Such was the fate of Orellana, who, as a discoverer, surpassed all his countrymen; and though, as a conqueror, he was unfortunate, yet neither is he chargeable with any of those atrocities toward the unhappy natives which have left such a stain on the glories of Cortes and Pizarro.
The next attempt we read of to discover Eldorado was made a few years after, under Hernando de Ribera, by ascending the La Plata, or River of Paraguay. He sailed in a brigantine with eighty men, and encountered no hostility from the natives. They confirmed the stories of the Amazons with theirgolden city. "How could they get at them?" was the next question: "by land, or by water?"—"Only by land," was the reply. "But it was a two-months' journey; and to reach them now would be impossible, because the country was inundated." The Spaniards made light of this obstacle, but asked for Indians to carry their baggage. The chief gave Ribera twenty for himself, and five for each of his men; and these desperate adventurers set off on their march over a flooded country.
Eight days they travelled through water up to their knees, and sometimes up to their middle. By slinging their hammocks to trees, and by this means only, could they find dry positions for the night. Before they could make a fire to dress their food, they were obliged to raise a rude scaffolding; and this was unavoidably so insecure, that frequently the fire burned through, and food and all fell into the water. They reached another tribe, and were told that the Amazons' country was still nine days farther on; and then still another tribe, who told them it would take a month to reach them. Perhaps they would still have advanced; but here an insuperable obstacle met them. The locusts for two successive years had devoured every thing before them, and nofood was to be had. The Spaniards had no alternative but to march back. On their way, they were reduced to great distress for want of food; and from this cause, and travelling so long half under water, the greater number fell sick, and many died. Of eighty men who accompanied Ribera upon this dreadful march, only thirty recovered from its effects.
This expedition added a few items to the story of Eldorado. Ribera declares under oath that the natives told him of a nation of women, governed by a woman, and so warlike as to be dreaded by all their neighbors. They possessed plenty of white and yellow metal: their seats, and all the utensils in their houses, were made of them. They lived on a large island, which was in a huge lake, which they called the "Mansion of the Sun," because the sun sank into it. The only way of accounting for these stories is, that the Spaniards furnished, in the shape of questions, the information which they fancied they received in reply; the Indians assenting to what they understood but imperfectly, or not at all.
MARTINEZ.
Another expedition, not long after Orellana's, was that conducted by Don Diego Ordaz, of which SirWalter Raleigh, in his "History of Guiana," gives an account. The expedition failed; Ordaz being slain in a mutiny of his men, and those who went with him being scattered. The only noticeable result was in the adventures of one Martinez, an officer of Ordaz, who had charge of the ammunition. We tell the story in the language of Sir Walter, slightly modernized:—
"It chanced, that while Ordaz, with his army, rested at the port of Morequito, by some negligence the whole store of powder provided for the service was set on fire; and Martinez, having the chief charge thereof, was condemned by the general to be executed forthwith. Martinez, being much favored by the soldiers, had all means possible employed to save his life; but it could not be obtained in other way but this,—that he should be set into a canoe alone, without any food, and so turned loose into the great river. But it pleased God that the canoe was carried down the stream, and that certain of the Guianians met it the same evening: and, not having at any time seen any European, they carried Martinez into the land to be wondered at; and so from town to town until he came to the great city of Manoa, the seat and residence of Inga, the emperor. The emperor, when he beheld him, knew him to be a Christian of those who had conquered the neighboring country of Peru, and caused him to be lodged in his palace, and well entertained. He lived seven months in Manoa, but was not suffered to wander into the country anywhere. He was also brought thither all the way blindfolded by the Indians, until he came to the entranceof Manoa itself. He avowed at his death that he entered the city at noon, and then they uncovered his face; and that he travelled all that day till night through the city, ere he came to the palace of Inga."After Martinez had lived seven months in Manoa, and began to understand the language of the country, Inga asked him whether he desired to return to his own country, or would willingly abide with him. Martinez, not desirous to stay, obtained permission of Inga to depart, who sent with him some Guianians to conduct him to the river of Orinoco, with as much gold as they could carry, which he gave to Martinez at his departure. But, when he arrived at the river's side, the natives, being at that time at war with Inga, robbed him and his Guianians of all his treasure, save only two bottles made of gourds, which were filled with beads of gold, which those people thought to contain his drink or food, with which he was at liberty to depart. So, in a canoe, he passed down by the river to Trinidad, and from thence to Porto Rico, where he died. In the time of his extreme sickness, and when he was without hope of life, receiving the sacrament at the hands of his confessor, he delivered this relation of his travels, and also called for his calabazas, or gourds of gold beads, which he gave to the church and the friars, to be prayed for."This Martinez was the one who christened the city of Manoa by the name 'Eldorado,' and upon this occasion. At the times of their solemn feasts, when the emperor carouses with his captains, tributaries, and governors, the manner is thus: All those that pledge him are first stripped naked, and their bodies anointed all over with a kind of white balsam very precious. When they are anointed all over, certain servants of theemperor, having prepared gold made into fine powder, blow it through hollow canes upon their naked bodies until they be all shining from the head to the foot. Upon this sight, and for the abundance of gold which he saw in the city, the images of gold in their temples, the plates, armors, and shields of gold which they use in the wars, he called it Eldorado."
"It chanced, that while Ordaz, with his army, rested at the port of Morequito, by some negligence the whole store of powder provided for the service was set on fire; and Martinez, having the chief charge thereof, was condemned by the general to be executed forthwith. Martinez, being much favored by the soldiers, had all means possible employed to save his life; but it could not be obtained in other way but this,—that he should be set into a canoe alone, without any food, and so turned loose into the great river. But it pleased God that the canoe was carried down the stream, and that certain of the Guianians met it the same evening: and, not having at any time seen any European, they carried Martinez into the land to be wondered at; and so from town to town until he came to the great city of Manoa, the seat and residence of Inga, the emperor. The emperor, when he beheld him, knew him to be a Christian of those who had conquered the neighboring country of Peru, and caused him to be lodged in his palace, and well entertained. He lived seven months in Manoa, but was not suffered to wander into the country anywhere. He was also brought thither all the way blindfolded by the Indians, until he came to the entranceof Manoa itself. He avowed at his death that he entered the city at noon, and then they uncovered his face; and that he travelled all that day till night through the city, ere he came to the palace of Inga.
"After Martinez had lived seven months in Manoa, and began to understand the language of the country, Inga asked him whether he desired to return to his own country, or would willingly abide with him. Martinez, not desirous to stay, obtained permission of Inga to depart, who sent with him some Guianians to conduct him to the river of Orinoco, with as much gold as they could carry, which he gave to Martinez at his departure. But, when he arrived at the river's side, the natives, being at that time at war with Inga, robbed him and his Guianians of all his treasure, save only two bottles made of gourds, which were filled with beads of gold, which those people thought to contain his drink or food, with which he was at liberty to depart. So, in a canoe, he passed down by the river to Trinidad, and from thence to Porto Rico, where he died. In the time of his extreme sickness, and when he was without hope of life, receiving the sacrament at the hands of his confessor, he delivered this relation of his travels, and also called for his calabazas, or gourds of gold beads, which he gave to the church and the friars, to be prayed for.
"This Martinez was the one who christened the city of Manoa by the name 'Eldorado,' and upon this occasion. At the times of their solemn feasts, when the emperor carouses with his captains, tributaries, and governors, the manner is thus: All those that pledge him are first stripped naked, and their bodies anointed all over with a kind of white balsam very precious. When they are anointed all over, certain servants of theemperor, having prepared gold made into fine powder, blow it through hollow canes upon their naked bodies until they be all shining from the head to the foot. Upon this sight, and for the abundance of gold which he saw in the city, the images of gold in their temples, the plates, armors, and shields of gold which they use in the wars, he called it Eldorado."
Such is Sir Walter's narrative of one of the traditions which fired his enthusiasm to undertake the conquest of Eldorado. He asserts that he read it in "The Chancery of Saint Juan de Porto Rico," of which Berrio had a copy. It is pretty plainly tinctured with fable, but probably had an historical foundation.
After this, a good many years elapsed before any other expedition of note was fitted out in search of Eldorado. But the story grew, notwithstanding. An imaginary kingdom was shaped out. It was governed by a potentate who was called the Great Paytiti, sometimes the Great Moxu, sometimes the Enim, or Great Pará. An impostor at Lima affirmed that he had been in his capital, the city of Manoa, where not fewer than three thousand workmen were employed in the silversmiths' street. He even produced a map of the country, in which he had marked a hill of gold, another of silver, and a third of salt. The columnsof the palace were described as of porphyry and alabaster, the galleries of ebony and cedar: the throne was of ivory, and the ascent to it by steps of gold. The palace was built of white stone. At the entrance were two towers, and between them a column twenty-five feet in height. On its top was a large silver moon; and two living lions were fastened to its base with chains of gold. Having passed by these keepers, you came into a quadrangle planted with trees, and watered by a silver fountain, which spouted through four golden pipes. The gate of the palace was of copper, and its bolt was received in the solid rock. Within, a golden sun was placed upon an altar of silver; and four lamps were kept burning before it day and night.
It may surprise us that tales so palpably false as these should have deceived any, to such an extent as to lead them to get up costly and hazardous expeditions to go in search of the wonder; but we must remember, that what the Spaniards had already realized and demonstrated to the world in their conquests of Mexico and Peru was hardly less astonishing than these accounts. It is therefore no wonder that multitudes should be found willing to admit so much of the marvels of Eldorado as to see in thema sufficient inducement to justify the search; and others less credulous were perhaps willing to avail themselves of the credulity of the multitude to accomplish plans of conquest and ambition for themselves. Of the latter class, we may imagine the celebrated Sir Walter Raleigh to be one, who, at this time, undertook an expedition for the discovery and conquest of Eldorado.