of a drye nature And I knowe that it hath bynne vsed of many to theyr greate profyte And especially in those sorte of mynes which I sayde before to bee dygged in Vigentina in Schio beinge very ryche and good Proue it therfore For all kyndes of mines do not receaue it And of this wherof I haue spoken I haue intelligence that there hath bynne pieces founde holdynge a fourth part of syluer Mines holdynge the fourthe part of siluer and sum more then halfe And this was founde lyinge in maner in the superficiaâ—l parte of the earth and sum tymes in pathes and high wayes It hath also bin founde vnder the rootes of suche trees as haue byn ouerthrowen by tempeste and this very perfecte So that emongâ— all the mynes whiche I haue seene in the dominions of Uenice as in Carnia and in mnay other places I can not saye that I haue seene any better Although there bee many caues wherof the most parte are of coppeâ— holdinge syluer Copper holdinge syluer and emonge other that in the mountayne of Auanzo where I in the company of certeyne other gentlemen caused a caue to bee digged And bycause the hole charge was committed to mee I wente by occasion twyse into high Almanye to see the mynes of â—hat countrey wherby I might haue the better experience to faule to practyse at my returne In so much that I founde the mine which we had taken in hand to folowe to bee very good and ryche holdynge more then three vnces and a halfe of syluer in euery hundreth of the myne Thâ—e vnces diÌ„ of siluer in euery hundreth of mine And doubtlesse we shuld haue obteyned great commoditie hereby if fortune at that tyme had not raysed warre betwene Maximilian Themperoure and the signorie of Uenece war betwene Maximilian â—hemperour and the Uenecians which was the cause that those places of Frioli and Carnia coulde not be quietly inhabited whereby wâ— were enforced to forsake owre enterpryse and to rase and destroy thorder which we had begunne And by reason that the warres continued longe we were constrayned to diuide owr company where I also departed an other way hauyng euer in mynde to folowe owre attempted enterpryse when better oportunitie shulde serue In the meane tyme returnyng ageinâ— into hyghe Almanie The mynes of Almanye I made more diligent searche to knowâ— the mynes then before and went to Sbozzo Plaiper Ispruch Alla and Arotrinbergh frome whense I wente into dyuers places of Italy So that to conclude the most and best mynes whiche I haue sene to holde most of syluer are those that are foundâ— in Viceâ—tina in certeyne stones of a dark grey or russet colour as I haue sayde before And nowe for a generall aduertisement I wyll not omyt to tell yow that when yow haue attempted to dygge any mynes and haue founde the marchasiâ—e and the myne myxt togyther The mâ—rchasite mixt with the myne yowe shall leaue of yowre woorke bycause it signifieth that the myne is neare to the superficial part of the earth that it is of but lyttle quantitie And thus as touchyng this myne of syluer I can say no morâ— sauynge that I haue not yet shewed yowe the maner of pourgynge it from earthly grosenes and to brynge it to perfect metall But bycause I haue determyned to speake largely hereof in the proper place of the fusion or meltynge of all metals I haue thowght good to speake no further of this matter at this presente The maner of workynge in golde mynes of Egipte in owld tyme after the description of Diodorus Siculus who wrotte his historie cauled Bibliotheca sumwhat before the dayes of themperoure Oâ—tauianus Augustus before thincarnatioÌ„ of Christ abowt .xl. yeares He wryteth therefore in his fourthe booke as foloweth WE haue not thowght good to pretermit howe golde is founde digged and wrought amonge the Egiptians In the confines therefore of Egipte where it borthereth with Ethiopia and Arabia there are certeyne places frutefull of metalles owt of the whiche golde is digged with great laboure and expenses For a blacke earthe of minerale nature hath certeyne vaynes of moste white marble exceadinge bright and shyninge Gold iÌ„ a black earthâ— and white marble The surueyours of this woorke haue assigned them a greate company of men to woorke and coyne golde For the kinges of Egipte are accustomed to appoynte to these paynefull trauailes Then damned to the metales as nowe to the gallies all suche as haue byn convicte for certeyne crimes and condemned by lawes or taken prisoners in the warres or suche as haue byn committed to prison through the indignation of princes who by this meanes haue bothe great vantage by theyr laboure and punyshe them sufficiently for theyr offenses For barbarous strange souldiers of diuers languagies bare ruleouer them and keepe them to theyr worke in suche sorte that thuse of speache beinge taken from thyem they can not bee corrupted by loue or intreatie They drawe golde owt of the hardest earth decocte with much fyer The softest stone which is broken with meane labour is digged with instrumentes of iren by the trauayle of many thousaÌ„ds of men The scrier which decerneth the veines of the myne The scrier of the vayne goth before the workemen appoynting them the places where they shall digge The marble stone whiche he sheweth theim they breake and cleaue with wedgies of iren by the mere strength of their bodies withowte arte They make theyr fosse or caue not right furthe but as the bright nature of the golden marble leadeth them Golden marble beinge otherwyse darke and obscure by reason of theyr sundry turnes and bendinges diuers wayes The labourers caryinge lyght beforâ— theyr forheades digge great stones owt of the myne whychâ— they let faule on the ground From this labour they neuer rest inforced to contynual woorke with strokes and contumelious woordes The woorke of chyldren Children of thage of .xii. or .xiii. yeares or vppewarde are diuided into two companyes whereof the one breake the stones into smaule pieces and the other cary furth that which is brokeÌ„ They that are past thage of .xxx. yeares receaue the sayd broken stones at theyr hands and beate them in vessels of stone with maules of iren to the quaÌ„titie of tares or fytches which afterward they cast into many milles Mylles where by the laboure of two or three women or owlde men to euery mylle The miâ—ery of the miners they are grounde as smaule as meale The fylthinesse of the bodies of these labourers is apparent to all men For not so muche as their priuie members are couered with any thinge And theyr bodies bysyde so fylthy that no man can beholde them withowt compassion of theyr miserie But no pitie no reste no remission is graunted them whether they bee men or women younge or owlde sycke or feeble But are all with strokes inforced to continuall labour vntyl the poore wretches faynt and often tymes dye for extreme debilitie In so much that many of them for feare of theyr lyfe to coomme which they thynke woorse then the present payne preferre death before
vnprofitable And brynge rather a fame to theyr inuentoures then trewe glorye Fame differeth from true glory Perillus was famous by diuisynge his brasen bulle yet so that it had byn better for hym to haue byn obscure and vnknowen They haue therefore deserued more trewe commendation whiche in buyldynge of cities townes fortresses bridges cundites hauens shyppes and suche other haue so ioyned magnificence with profecte that bothe may remaine for an eternal testimonie of absolute glory Absolute glory whose perfection extendeth to the gratifyinge of vniuersal mankind as farre as mans mortalitie wyll permit The whiche thinge whyle I consider and caule to memorie howe Cicero defineth trewe glory to bee a fame of many and greate desertes eyther towarde owre citizens What is true glory owre countrey or towarde all man kynde and the same to bee of such excellencie that the owlde poetes for sume effecte fayned it to bee the sweete Ambrosia and Nectar wherwith the goddes are fedde and that of such force that who so may drynke therof shal also become a god that is to say immortall and happy mee thynke verely that yf man maye be a god to men as holy scripture speaketh of Moises and other the kynges of Spayne of late dayes if I may speake it without offence of other may so much the more for theyr iust desertes and good fortune be compared to those goddes made of men whom the antiquitie cauled Heroes and for theyr manyfolde benefites to man kynde honoured theym with The kynges of Spayne Heroes diuine honoure as theyr famous factes so farre excell al other as I dare not speake to such as haue not yet harde or redde of the same least the greatnesse therof shulde at the first brunte so muche astonyshe the reader that he myght geue the lesse credite to the autoure of this booke who neuerthelesse hath moste faythfully wrytten this hystorye of suche thynges wherof he hath seene a greate parte him selfe as being by the moste catholyke and puissaunt kynge Ferdinando appoynted a commissionarie in th affayres of India and gathered the residewe partly by information and partly out of the wrytinges of such as haue byn as Uyrgyll wryteth of Eneas The certentie of this hystory Et quorum pars magna fui that is doers and parte of such thynges as are conteyned in the hystorie as Gouernours Lieuetenauntes Capitaynes Admirals and Pylottes who by theyr paineful trauayles and prowes haue not onely subdued these landes and seas but haue also with lyke diligence commytted thorder therof to wrytinge And not this onely but for the better tryall of the trewth herein haue and yet doo in maner dayly sende from thense into Spayne such monumentes as are most certeyne testimonies of theyr doynge as yow may reade in dyuers places in this boke This newe worlde is nowe so much frequented the Ocean nowe so well knowen and the commodities so greate that the kynge erected a house in the citie of Siuile cauled the house of the contractes of India perteynynge onely to th affayres of the Ocean The house of the contractes of India to the which al such resorte for necessaries as attempte anye vyage to this newe worlde and lykewyse at theyr returne make theyr accompte to the counsayle for the Indies for the golde and suche other thynges as they brynge from thense The counsayl for the Indiâ—s It is therefore apparent that the heroical factes of the Spaniardes of these days The heroicall factes of the Spanyardes deserue so greate prayse that thautour of this booke beinge no Spanyarde doth woorthely extolle theyr doynge aboue the famous actes of Hercules and Saturnus and such other which for theyr glorious and vertuous enterpryses were accoumpted as goddes amonge men And surely if great Alexander and the Romans which haue rather obteyned then deserued immortall fame amonge men for theyr bluddye victories onely for theyr owne glory and amplifyinge theyr empire obteyned by slawghter of innocentes and kepte by violence Great Alexander The â—panyardes warres in the Indies haue byn magnified for theyr doinges howe much more then shal we thynke these men woorthy iust commendations which in theyr mercyfull warres ageynst these naked people haue so vsed themselues towarde them in exchaungynge of benefites for victorie that greater commoditie hath therof ensewed to the vanquisshed then the victourers They haue taken nothynge from them but such as they them selues were wel wyllynge to departe with and accoumpted as superfluities as golde perles precious stones and such other for the which they recompensed theym with suche thynges as they muche more estemed The benefites that the Indians haue receaued by the Spanyardes But sum wyll say they possesse and inhabyte theyr regions and vse theym as bondemen and tributaries where before they were free They inhabite theyr regions in deede Yet so that by theyr diligence and better manurynge the same they maye nowe better susteyne both then one before Theyr bondage is suche as is much rather to be desired then theyr former libertie which was to the cruell Canibales rather a horrible licenciousnesse then a libertie Lybertie The Canibales and to the innocent so terrible a bondage thaâ— in the myddest of theyr ferefull idlenesse Feareful idlenesse they were euer in daunger to be a pray to those manhuntynge woolues But nowe thanked be God by the manhodde and pollicie of the Spanyardes this deuelysshe generation is so consumed partely by the slaughter of suche as coulde by no meanes be brought to ciuilitie and partly by reseruynge such as were oueâ—come in the warres and conuertynge them to a better mynde that the prophecie may herein bee fulfylled that the woolfe and the lambe shall feede together Isai. 65. and the wylde fieldes with the vale of Aâ—hor shal be the folde of the heard of gods people Moises as the minister of the lawe of wrath and bondage geuen in fyer teÌ„pestes The warres of Moises was coÌ„maunded in his warres to saue neyther man woman nor chylde and yet brought no commoditie to the nations whom he ouercame and possessed theyr landes But the Spaniardes as the mynisters of grace and libertie The Indians subdued to the fayth browght vnto these newe gentyles the victorie of Chrystes death wherby they beinge subdued with the worldely sworde are nowe made free from the bondage of Sathans tyrannie by the myghty poure of this triumphante victourer Isai. 42. whom as sayth the prophet god hath ordeyned to be a lyght to the gentyles to open the eyes of the blynde and to delyuer the bounde owt of pryson and captiuitie What other men do phantasie herein I can not tell but suer I am that lyke as the slowe and brutysshâ— wyttes for the sclendernesse of theyr capacitie and effeminate hartes do neuer or seldome lyfte vp theyr myndes to the contemplation of goddes workes and maiestie of nature The contemplation of gods workes but lyke brute beastes lookynge euer
.xvii. shippes and a M. and fyue hundreth men althoughe there were onely a thousand and two hundreth assygned hym by the kynges letters It is sayde furthermore that he lefte behynd hym more then two thousande verye pensyue and syghynge that they also myght not be receaued proferynge them selues to go at their owne charges He taried .xvi. dayes in Gomera to thintente to make prouysyon of fuell and freshe water Prouision of fresshe water and fuell But chiefely to repayre his shyppes beynge sore brosed with tempestes and especially the gouernours shippe whiche had loste the rudder For these Ilandes are a commodious restynge place for all suche as intende to attempte any nauygations in that mayne sea Departynge from hense in the nones of Maye he sawe no more lande vntyll the thirde daye of Iune at the whiche he arriued at Dominica an Ilande of the Canibales The Iland of Dominica being distant from Gomera aboute eyght hundreth leaques Here he remayned foure dayes makinge newe prouision of freshe water and fuell durynge whiche tyme he sawe no man nor yet any steppes of men But founde plentie of sea crabbes and greate lysartes From hense he sayled by the Ilandes of Matinina otherwyse cauled Madanino Guadalupea Guadalupea otherwyâ—e cauled Carucuerâ—a or Queraquiera and Galanta otherwyse cauled Galana of all whiche we haue spoken in the fyrste decade He passed also throughe the sea of herbes or weedes continuyng a long tracte Yet nother he nor Colonus the Admyrall who fyrste founde these Ilandes and sayled through this sea of weedes haue declared anye reason howe these weedes shoulde coome The sea of herbes Summe thynke the sea too be verye muddye there and that these weedes are engendered in the bottome therof and so beynge loosed to ascende to the vppermooste parte of the water as wee see oftentymes chaunce in certeyne stondynge pooles and sumtymes also in greate ryuers Other suppose that they are not engendered there but to bee beaten from certeyne rockes by the vyolence of the water in tempestes And thus they leaue the matter in dowte Neyther haue they yet any certeyne experyence whether they stycke faste and gyue place to the shyppes or wander loose vppon the water But it is to bee thought that they are engendered there For otherwyse they shulde bee dryuen togyther on heapes by thympulsyon of the shyppes euen as a beasome gathereth the swepynges of a house and shulde also lette the course of the shyppes The fourth day after that he departed frome Dominica These mountaynes are cauled Montes Niuales or Serra Neuata decâ—de ii liber i .ii. the hyghe mountaynes couered with snowe wherof we haue spoken in the seconde decade appered vnto hym They saye that there the seas runne as swyftely towarde the weste The swyfte courâ—e of the sea towarde the west as it were a ryuer faulyng from the toppes of hyghe montaynes Although they sayled not directly toward the west but inclined sumwhat to the south From these montaynes fauleth the ryuer of Gaira The ryuer Gaira famous by the slaughter of owre men at such tyme as Rodericus Colmenares passed by those coastes as we haue sayde before Lykewyse many other fayre ryuers haue their originall from the same montaynes This prouynce in the whiche is also the regyon of Caramairi hath in it two notable hauens Caramairi of the which owre men named the one Carthago or Carthagona Carthago and the other Sancta Martha the region wherof thinhabitantes caule Saturma Saturma The porte of Sancta Martha is nearer to the montaines couered with snowe cauled Montes Niuales Mountaynes couered with snowe for it is at the rootes of the same montaines But the hauen of Carthago is more westewarde aboute fyftie leaques He writeth marueylous thynges of the hauen of Sancta Martha whiche they also confirme that came lately froÌ„ theÌ„se Of the which younge Vesputâ—us is one to whoÌ„ Americus Vesputius his vncle being a FloreÌ„tine borne left the exact knowlege of the mariners facultie Americus Vespâ—tius as it were by inheritance after his death for he was a very expert maister in the knowledge of his carde his compasse and the eleuation of the pole starre with all that perteineth therto This younge Vesputius was assygned by the kyng to bee one of the maisters of the gouernours shyppe bicause he was cunninge in iudgyng the degrees of the eleuation of the pole starre by the quadrante For the charge of gouernynge the rudder was chiefely coommytted to one Iohannes Serranus a Spaniarde who had oftentymes ouer runne those coastes Vesputius is my verye familyar frende and a wyttie younge man in whose coompany I take great pleasure and therefore vse hym oftentymes for my geste He hath also made many vyages into these coastes and diligently noted suche thinges as he hath seene Petrus Arias therfore writeth and he confyrmeth the same that thinhabitantes of these regyons tooke their originall of the Caribes or Canibales as appeared by the desperate fiercenes and crueltie which they oftentymes shewed to owre men when they passed by their coastes Suche stouâ—enes and fortitude of mynde is natuâ—â—llye engendered in these naked Barbarians The stoutnes of the Barbarianâ— that they feared not to aâ—sayle owre hole nauy to forbyd them to coome a land They feyght with venemous arrowes as we haue sayde before Perceauynge that owre men contempned their threatnynges they ranne furiously into the sea euen vppe to the breastes The Canibales feyghâ— in the water nothynge fearinge eyther the bygnes or multitude of owre shyppes but ceased not continually beinge thus in the water to cast dartes and shute their venemous arrowes as thicke as hayle In so muche that owre men had bynne in great daunger if they had not byn defended by the cages or pauisses of the shyppes and their targettes Yet were two of them wounded whiche died shortely after But this conflycte continued so sharpe that at the length owre men were enforced to shute of their byggest pieces of ordinaunce with hayleshotte The vse of gunnes At the slaughter and terrible noyse wherof the barbarians beynge sore discomfited and shaken with feare thynkynge the same to be thunder and lyghtnynge The generacion of thunder and lyghtnynge tourned their backes and fledde amayne They greately feare thunder bycause these regyons are oftentymes vexed with thunder and lyghtnynge by reason of the hyghe montaynes and nearenesse of the same to the region of the ayer wherin such fierie tempestes are engendered which the philosophers caule Meteora Meteora And all be it that owre men had nowe dryuen their enemyes to flyght and sawe them disparcled and owte of order yet dowted they and were of dyuers opinions whether they shulde pursue them or not On the one partie shame pricked them forwarde and on the other syde feare caused them to caste many perelles especially consyderynge the venemous arrowes whiche these barbarians canne direct so certeynely
were borne in this Ilande affirminge it to be very peopulous and frutefull hauinge also manye fayre wooddes and hauens There is deadly hatred and continual battayle betwene them the Canibales They haue no boates to passe from their owne coastes to the Canibales But if it bee their chaunce to ouercome them when they make incursion into theyr countreye to seke their praye as it sumtyme happeneth the fortune of warre beinge vncerteyne they serue them with like sause requiringe deathe for deathe Death for dâ—athe For one of theym mangeleth an other in pieces and roste them and eate them euen before their eyes They taryed not in this Ilande Yet in the weste angle therof a fewe of them went a lande for fresshe water and fownd a greate and hâ—gh howse after the maner of their buylding hauinge .xii. other of their vulgare cotages placed abowte the same The mountaynes are coulder then the playnes but were all lefte desolate whether it were that they resorted to the mountaynes by reson of the heate which was that tyme of the yeare and to returne to the playne when the ayre wareth cowlder or els for feare of the Canibales which make incursion into the Ilande at certen seasons In all this Ilande is only one kinge The south syde hereof extendeth abowte two hundrethe myles Shortlye after they came to the Ilande of Hispaniola beinge distante frome the firste Ilande of the Canibales fyue hundrethe leaques From Dominica to hiâ—paniola fyue hundreth leaques Here they fownde all thâ—nges out of order and theyr felowes slayne whiâ—h they lefte here at their fyrste vyage In the beginninge of Hispaniola hauinge in it many regions and kyngedomes as we haue sayde is the region of Xamana whose kinge is named Guaâ—canarillus The Spanyâ—â—des lefte in the Iland are sâ—ayne kynge Guaccanariâ—lus rebelleth This Guaccanarillus ioyned frendeshippe with owre men at the fyrste viage and made a league with them But in the absence of the Admirall he rebelled was the cause of owre mens destruction althowgh he dissimuled the same and pretended frendship at the Admirales returne As owre men sayled on yet a litle furtheâ— they espied a longe Canoa with many ores in which was the bâ—other of Guaccanarillus with only one man waytinge on hym He browght with hym two Images of goulde Two images of goulde which he gaue the Admirall in the name of his brother And towlde a â—ale in his language as concerninge the deathe of owre men as they proued afterwarde but at this tyme had no regarde to his communication for lacke of interpretours which were eyther all deade or escaped and stoulne awaye when they drewe nere the Ilandes But of the x.vii dyed by change of ayre and dyer The inhabitantes of these Ilandes haue byn euer soo vsed to liue at libertâ—e in playe and pastyme Libertie and idlenes that they can hardely away with the yoke of seruitude which they attempte to shake of by all meanes they maye And surely if they had receaued owre relâ—gion I wolde thinke their life moste happye of all men A happy kind of lyfe if they might therwith enioye their aunciente libertie A fewe thinges contente them hauinge no delite in suche superâ—luites Superfluite for the which in other places men take infinite paynes and commit manie vnlawfull actes and yet are neuer satisfied wheras many haue to muche and none inowgh many haue to much and none inough But emonge these simple sowles a fewe clothes serue the naked weâ—ghtes and measures are not needefull to such as can not skyll of crafte and deceyte and haue not the vse of pestifetous monye the seede of innumerable myscheues So that if we shall not be ashamed to confesse the truthe they seeme to lyue in that goulden worlde of the whiche owlde wryters speake so much â–ª The goulden worlde wherin men lyued simplye and innocentlye without inforcement of lawes without quarellinge Iudges and libelles contente onely to satisfie nature without further vexation for knowelege of thinges to come Yet these naked people also are tormeÌ„ted with ambitioÌ„ for the desyre they haue to enlarge their dominions Naked men troubled with ambicion by reason wherof they kepe warre destroy one an other froÌ„ the which plage I suppoâ—e the golden world was not free For euen then also Cede non câ—dam that is gyue place Gyue place I wyll not giue place had entred emonge men But nowe to returne to the matter froÌ„ which we haue digressed The admiral desyrous to knowe further of the death of his men sent for Guaccanarillus to come to him to his ship dissimulinge that he knew any thinge of the matter The Admira sendeth for the kynge After that he came aboord shyp saluting the Admiral his coÌ„pany gyuing also certeÌ„ golde to the Capetaynes and offycers turned him to the womeÌ„ captiues which not longe before our meÌ„ had deliuered froÌ„ the Canibales And ernestly beholding one of them whome owre men cauled Catharyne he spake gentelly vnto her No horses in the Ilandes And thus when he had seene and marueyled at the horses and suche other thinges as were in the shyppe vnknowen to them and had with a good grace and merelye asked leaue of the Admirall he departed Yet sum there were which counseyled the Admirall to kepe hym styll that if they might by any meanes proue that he was consentinge to the deathe of owre men he might bee punished accordinglie But the Admirall considering that it was yet no tyme to incense thinhabitantes myndes to wrathe A tyme for all thynges dysmyssed hym The next daye folowing the kinges brother resortyng to the shyppes eyther in his owne name or in his brothers seduced the women For on the next nyght about mydnight this Katherine aswell to recouer her owne libertie as also her felowes being suborned therto eyther by the kinge or his brothers promises attempted a much more difficulte and daungerous aduenture then dyd Cloelia of Rome A desperate aduenture of a woman Cloelia of Rome which beinge in hostage with other maydes to the kynge Porcena deceaued her kepers and rode ouer the ryuer Tiber with the other virgins which were pledges with her For wheras they swamme ouer the ryuer on horsebacke This Katharyne with seuen other women trustynge onlye to the strengthe of theyr owne armes swamme aboue three longe myles and that also at suche tyme as the sea was sumwhat rowghe For euen soo farre of frome the shore lay the shippes at rode as nigh as they could coniecture But owre men folowinge them with the shippeboates by the same light seene on the shore wherby the women were ledde tooke three of them supposinge that Katharyne with the other foure wente to Guaccanarillus For in the springe of the morninge certen messengers beinge sente to hym by the Admirall had intelligence that he was fledde with all his familie and stuffe and the women
also which thinge ministred further suspection that he was consentinge to the death of owre men Wherfore the Admirall sente forthe an armye of three hundrethe men ouer the which he appoynted one Melchior to be capitayne wylling hym to make diligent searche to fynde owte Guaccanarillus Melchior therfore with the smauleste vessels enteringe into the countreye by the ryuers and scouringe the shores Guaccanarillus is sought â—â—lâ—hior chaunced into certen croked goulfes defended with .v lyttle stiepe hilles supposinge that it had byn the mouth of sum greate ryuer He founde here also a verye commodious and safe hauen and therefore named it Portus Regalis They saye that the enteraunce of this is so crooked and bendinge that after the shippes are once within the same whether they turne theÌ„ to the lefte hand or to the ryght they can not perceaue where they came in vntyll they returne to the mouth of the ryuer Although it be there so brode that three of the byggeste vessels may sayle together on a froont The sharpe high hilles on the one syde and on the other so brake the wynde that they were vncerten howe to rule theyr sayles In the myddle gulfe of the ryuer there is a promontorie or point of the lande with a pleasaunte groue full of Popingayes and other byrdes which breede therein and singe verye sweetlye Popingayes and byrdes They perceaued also that two ryuers of no smaule largenes fell into the hauen Whyle they thus searched the lande betwene bothe Melchior espied a high house a farre of where supposinge that Guaccanarillus had lyne hyd he made towarde it And as he was goynge there mette hym a man with a frownynge countenaunce and a grymme looke with a hundreth men folowynge hym armed with bowes and arrowes and long and sharpe staues like iauelynnes made harde at the endes with fyre Who approchyng towardes owre men spake owte alowde with a terryble voyce sayenge that they were Taini Taini that is noble men and not Canibales But when owre men had gyuen them signes of peace they lefte bothe theyr weapons and fiercenes Thus geuynge eche of them certen haukes belles haukes belles â–ª they tooke it for so greate a rewarde that they desyred to enter bondes of nere frendeshyppe with vs and feared not immediatly to submitte them selues vnder owre power and resorted to our shyps with theyr presentes They that measured the house beinge made in rounde fourme fownde it to be from syde to syde .xxxii. greate paces A large hous compased abowte with .xxx. other vulgare houses hauinge in them many beames crosse ouer and couered with reedes of sundry colours Reedes of suÌ„dry colours wrethed and as it were weaued with maruelous art When owre men asked sum of them where they myght fynde Guaccanarillus They aunswered that that Region was none of his But theyr kynges beynge there presente Yet they sayde they supposed that Guaccanarillus was gone from the playne to the mountaynes Makynge therfore a brotherly league with this Caccicus Caccius that is to saye a kynge they retourned to the Admyrall to make relation what they hadde seene and harde whervppon he sent forth dyuers other Centurians with their hundrethes to searche the countrey yet further Emonge the which were Hoiedus and Gorualanus hoâ—edus and Gorualanus noble younge gentlemen of great courage And as they went towarde the mountaines to seeke Guaccanarillus dyuidinge the mountaynes betwene theÌ„ one of them fownde on the one syde therof foure ryuers faulynge frome the same mountaynes and the other founde .iii. on the other syde In the sandes of all these ryuers is fownd great plentye of goulde Golde in ryuers faulinge from mountaynes which thinhabitantes of the same Ilande which were with vs gathered in this maner Making holes in the sande with theyr handes a Cubette deape and takynge vp sande with their lefte handes from the botome of the same The maner of gathering golde they picked out graynes of goulde with their ryght handes withowte any more arte or cunnynge Graynes of golde And so deliuered it to owre men who affirme that many of them thus gathered were as bygge as tares or fytchis And I my selfe sawe a masse of rude goulde A masse of rude goâ—de weighinge .ix ounces that is to say suche as was neuer molten lyke vnto suche stones as are founde in the bottomes of ryuers weighinge nyne ownces which Hoieda him selfe fownde Beinge contented with these signes they returned to the Admirall to certifie him hereof For the Admirall had commaunded vnder payne of punyshement that they shuld meddle no further then their commission which was only to searche the places with their signes For the fame went that there was a certeyne kynge of the mountaynes from whense those ryuers had their faule whom they caule Cacicus Caunaboa that is the lord of the house of golde Cannaboa kynge of the house of gold For they caule a house Boa goulde Cauni and a kynge or Lorde Cacicus as we haue sayde before holâ—ome water and plentie of fysshe They affirme that there can noo where be found better fysshe nor of more pleasant tast or more holsome then in these ryuers also the waters of the same to be most holsom to drynke Melchior hym selfe towld me that in the moneth of December The day and nyght of equal length in DeceÌ„ber the days and nyghtes bee of equal length among the Canibalis But the sphere or circles of the heauen agreeth not thervnto â—yrdes breed in December Albeit that in the same moneth sume byrdes make their nestes and sume haue alredy hatched their egges by reason of the heate beinge rather continuall then extreme He towlde me also when I questioned with hym as concernynge the eleuation of the pole from the horizontal lyne The eleuation of the poâ—e that al the sterres cauled Plastrum or charles wayne The starres are cauled gardens of the pole are hydde vnder the Northe pole to the Canibales And surely there returned none from thense at this viage to whome there is more credit to be gyuen then to this man But if he had byn skilfull in Astronomye he shulde haue sayde that the day was almoste equall with the night For in no place towarde the stay of the sonne cauled Solsticium can the night be equall with the day And as for them they neuer came vnder the Equinocâ—iall The Equinotial lyne for asmuch as they had euer the northe pole theyr guyde and euer eleuate in sight aboue the Horizontal Thus haue I briefely written vnto yowre honoure as muche as I thought sufficiente at this tyme. And shall shortly hereafter by Gods fauoure wryte vnto you more largely of suche matters as shal be dayly better knowen For the admirall hym selfe whome I vse famylyerly as my verye frende hathe promysed me by his letters that he wyl gyue me knowlege of al such thynges as shall chaunce