by Buddy Levy
29 “rested after a fashion” Gonzalo Pizarro, letter to the king, September 3, 1542, in Medina, Discovery, 249.
30 “Captain Orellana told me” Ibid., 248.
31 Paying no heed Ibid.
CHAPTER SEVEN: ST. EULALIA’S CONFLUENCE—THE AMAZON
1 “The Captain, seeing that it was necessary” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 176.
2 “jewels and gold medallions” Ibid., 177.
3 “Never did the Captain permit” Ibid.
4 He said that as a boy Ibid.; Cohen, Journeys, 41; Wood, Conquistadors, 209; Smith, Explorers, 70–71.
5 women warriors or “Amazons” For interesting discussions of the origins of Amazonian mythology, see Jessica Amanda Salmonson, The Encyclopedia of Amazons: Women Warriors from Antiquity to the Modern Era (New York, 1991), ix–xii; Abby Wettan Kleinbaum, The War Against the Amazons (New York, 1983), 1–38; and Lyn Webster Wilde, On the Trail of the Women Warriors: The Amazons in Myth and History (New York, 1999), 1–9.
6 “an island inhabited only by women” Hernán Cortés, Letters from Mexico, 298–300; Hemming, El Dorado, 90.
7 Similar tales persisted Hemming, El Dorado, 90.
8 “He ordered at once some bellows” Quoted in Cohen, Journeys, 40–41.
9 The mosquitoes were so thick Ibid., 41.
10 “two thousand very good nails” Medina, Discovery, 178.
11 “We laid in what foodstuffs we could” Ibid., 178–79.
12 “feared certain death” Quoted in Cohen, Journeys, 43.
13 “may occur and come to pass” Quoted in Medina, Discovery, 73.
14 “so up-hill a journey” Ibid., 254.
15 “by which at least their lives might be saved” Ibid., 74 and 74n, 178; Cohen, Journeys, 43.
16 “strange and hitherto never experienced voyage of discovery” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 169.
17 Orellana directed the laden San Pedro Bernard, Exploration, 47.
18 “many Indians in canoes ready to defend the landing place” Oviedo, quoted in Medina, Discovery, 412.
19 “expecting never to see them again” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 179; Oviedo, in Medina, Discovery, 413; Bernard, Exploration, 47.
20 “many hardships and extraordinary dangers” Quoted in Bernard, Exploration, 47.
21 “They brought back turtles” Oviedo, quoted in Medina, Discovery, 414.
22 “The one which came in on the right side” Ibid. There is some disagreement among the sources about the exact date of reaching the Amazon (Maranon), but Orellana and his men named the confluence St. Eulalia’s Confluence, honoring their arrival at this place on February 12, 1542.A number of other sources date the arrival at February 11, 1542.
23 “It was so wide from bank to bank” Oviedo, quoted in Medina, Discovery, 414.
24 More than 4,500 miles long … it contains an island the size of Switzerland Because precise river distances are extremely difficult to measure (they are not straight lines, for one thing), the distance given here of 4,000 miles is based on sources that measure from tributary origins at the headwaters. Most serious scientific sources consider the Amazon measured from its headwaters on the Ucayali in Peru. In 2001 the National Geographic Society accepted a measurement put forth by a Polish expedition, which gave the number as 4,650 miles. See Michael Goulding, The Smithsonian Atlas of the Amazon (Washington and London, 2003), 23 and 99; Bernard, Exploration, 49; Hemming, Tree of Rivers, 325–29.
25 “came with peaceful intent” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 180.
26 “The Indians remained very happy” Ibid., 181.
27 “many partridges like those of our Spain” Ibid., 181; Cohen, Journeys, 46.
28 “It was not long before we saw many Indians” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 181; Cohen, Journeys, 46.
29 “The Captain leaped out on land” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 182.
30 The overlord leapt out on land Ibid. There exist a number of feline species in this area, and all would have been hunted by the indigenous peoples. These include the puma, the jaguar, the ocelot, the margay, and the jaguarundi.
31 “worshipped a single God” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 182.
32 “to whom belonged the territory” Ibid., 183.
33 “since there was a good supply of materials” Ibid., 184.
34 Once the Spaniards entered their realm Wood, Conquistadors, 218; John Augustine Zahm, The Quest of El Dorado (New York and London, 1917), 73.
35 “Old men and women not suited for slavery” Meggers, Amazonia, 130.
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE VICTORIA
1 He offered to serve in the role of foreman Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 184 and 239n; Cohen, Journeys, 47.
2 “And thereupon the Captain ordered” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 184; Cohen, Journeys, 47; Wood, Conquistadors, 218–19.
3 “very far away” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 184.
4 “drive the mosquitoes away from him” Oviedo, in Medina, Discovery, 418.
5 “There came to see the Captain” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 186.
6 “many things to present” Ibid.; Cohen, Journeys, 47.
7 It has been suggested Cohen, Journeys, 48.
8 “misshapen hunchbacks and dwarves and albinos” Levy, Conquistador, 116.
9 “sorcerers, daubed with whitewash” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 197.
10 “culture bearers” John Hemming, email correspondence with the author on February 17, 2009; Donald W. Lathrap, The Upper Amazon (New York, 1970), 22–44; Smith, Explorers, 63–64. Dr. Robert Carneiro, editorial notes on River of Darkness, August 26, 2009. The extent and range of the Arawak-speaking tribes is controversial; Carneiro disagrees with Hemming, suggesting that the Arawak-speaking tribes on the Ucayali—the Piro and the Campa (Ashaninka)—would be very high up the river and likely not the groups that Orellana encountered.
11 While working on the brigantine Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 69 and 186.
12 “I preached every Sunday” Ibid., 187.
13 Within minutes he had himself “elected” chief justice Levy, Conquistador, 41–42.
14 “cavaliers and hidalgos, comrades, able-bodied men” Scrivener Isásaga letter, quoted in Medina, Discovery, 258.
15 “to go and search for the Governor” Ibid.
16 “We, perceiving and realizing the evil effects” Ibid., 259.
17 “and the Holy Mary” Ibid., 262.
18 In addition to Robles Cohen, Journeys, 49; Hemming, El Dorado, 108–9.
19 “The Captain requested of me” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 187.
20 (perhaps resin from local rubber trees or black beeswax) Dr. Robert Carneiro points out that while they might have used latex from a rubber tree, this “pitch” was “more likely from black beeswax, which the Indians use for things like caulking, etc.” From Carneiro editorial notes on River of Darkness, August 26, 2009.
21 nineteen joas … “quite large enough for navigating at sea” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 189 and 240n. Medina points out that the “joa” or “goa” is not exactly a unit of measure, but rather a nautical feature, an addition made to the end of the ribs to hold the rail; quoted in Smith, Explorers, 63. Michael Wood, in Conquistadors, 219, puts the boat at around twenty-four feet in length but does not explain how he arrives at that figure.
22 “ordered that all the men be ready” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 187.
23 Aparia the Great’s chiefdom Robert Carneiro, “The Chiefdom: Precursor to the State,” 37–79, in Grant D. Jones and Robert R. Kautz, The Transition to Statehood in the New World (New York, 1981). See also Helaine Silverman and William H. Isbell, Handbook of South American Archaeology (New York, 2008), 10 and 371–72.
24 The gunpowder … sleek and streamlined For detailed descriptions of conquistador weaponry, see John Pohl and Charles M. Robinson III, Aztecs and Conquistadors: The Spanish Invasion and the Collapse of the Aztec Empire (New York, 2005), 46–51.
2
5 “complete this novel voyage of discovery” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 187.
CHAPTER NINE: RIVER OF DARKNESS, BROTHERS OF DOOM
1 “a lover of warfare and very patient of hardship” Zárate, Discovery and Conquest of Peru, 242.
2 “swelled in such a way that they could not walk on their feet” Cieza de León, War of Chupas, 72.
3 “hawks’ bells, combs, and other trifles” Cieza de León, War of Chupas, 72–73.
4 Desperate to discover Ibid., 72; Wood, Conquistadors, 214; Zárate, Discovery and Conquest of Peru, 198; Smith, Explorers, 78; Chapman, Golden Dream, 177.
5 likely of the Secoya peoples Lathrap, Upper Amazon, 150–53. Lathrap suggests that at this time, this portion of the Aguarico was populated by a branch of the Omagua, called the Omagua-yete, who had migrated far upriver.
6 “there were no longer any Indians” Cieza de León, War of Chupas, 73.
7 “he knew not in what land he was” Ibid.
8 “the worst march ever in the Indies” Quoted in Wood, Conquistadors, 215.
9 “mountainous, with great ranges” Gonzalo Pizarro, letter to the king, September 3, 1542, in Medina, Discovery, 250.
10 “In this condition they went on” Cieza de León, War of Chupas, 73–74.
11 “owing to the density of the forest” Ibid.; Chapman, Golden Dream, 177.
12 “for it had been many days” Cieza de León, War of Chupas, 75.
13 The river here was rapid Ibid., 75–76; Quoted in Wood, Conquistadors, 216.
14 The Spaniards were reduced to fantasizing Birney, Brothers of Doom, 256.
15 these poor animals were subjected Bernard, Exploration, 92; Wood, Conquistadors, 215.
16 All the remaining horses Gonzalo Pizarro, letter to the king, September 3, 1542, in Medina, Discovery, 250.
17 Amazingly, it had taken them only a day and a half Cieza de León, War of Chupas, 76.
18 “they would find inhabitants” Ibid., 76.
19 “armed with their swords and bucklers” Ibid., 290.
20 “a great comet traversing the heavens” Ibid., 291; Wood, Conquistadors, 216; Chapman, Golden Dream, 178–79.
21 “the object he most prized was dead” Quoted in Chapman, Golden Dream, 179; Cieza de León, War of Chupas, 291; Wood, Conquistadors, 216 (although Wood offers another translation of the dream, reading “Pizarro would soon learn of the death of the person nearest to his heart”).
22 “They were traveling almost naked” Zárate, Discovery and Conquest of Peru, 198.
23 Arriving at the gates of the city Ibid., 198–99; Vega, Royal Commentaries, 915–16.
CHAPTER TEN: THE ASSASSINATION OF FRANCISCO PIZARRO
1 “began to eat with such a desire” Vega, Royal Commentaries, 915.
2 “what they had lacked most had been salt” Zárate, Discovery and Conquest of Peru, 198.
3 “and to govern the millions of new vassals” MacQuarrie, Last Days, 334.
4 Francisco loved the physicality of the work Ibid.; Zárate, Discovery and Conquest of Peru, 206–10.
5 Hernando arrived with a ship full of gold MacQuarrie, Last Days of the Incas, 336; Cieza de León, Civil Wars in Peru: The War of Las Salinas (London, 1923), 246–48; Vega, Royal Commentaries, 862–65; Zárate, Discovery and Conquest of Peru, 184–87.
6 So in June 1541 Cieza de León, War of Chupas, 96–97; Zárate, Discovery and Conquest of Peru, 199–200; Vega, Royal Commentaries, 882–83.
7 “so boyish that he was not adapted” Cieza de León, War of Chupas, 97.
8 spilled the entire plan to his priest Ibid., 97–98; MacQuarrie, Last Days of the Incas, 340.
9 “If we show determination” Cieza de León, War of Chupas, 103–4.
10 “Death to tyrants!” and “Long live the king!” Ibid., 104; MacQuarrie, Last Days of the Incas, 341; Zárate, Discovery and Conquest of Peru, 202–3.
11 “Arm! Arm! The men of Chile are coming to murder the Marquis!” Cieza de León, War of Chupas, 106; Vega, Royal Commentaries, 887.
12 “most of them … showing great cowardice” Cieza de León, War of Chupas, 106; Zárate, Discovery and Conquest of Peru, 203.
13 “He instantly fell in a death struggle” Cieza de León, War of Chupas, 107; MacQuarrie, Last Days of the Incas, 342.
14 “At them, brother!” Zárate, Discovery and Conquest of Peru, 204.
15 Pizarro managed to run the first man through Zárate, Discovery and Conquest of Peru, 204; Cieza de León, War of Chupas, 108.
16 “Those of Chile … delivered blows” Cieza de León, War of Chupas, 108–9.
17 “The moon, being full and bright” Ibid., 109.
18 “put on his spurs” Vega, Royal Commentaries, 889; Zárate, Discovery and Conquest of Peru, 205.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: ON THE MARANON TO THE REALM OF MACHIPARO
1 “furthest inland deep-ocean port in the world” Mann, 1491, 282.
2 “many painted people who flocked to the ships” Quoted in Hemming, Tree of Rivers, 13.
3 The tides near the river mouth Edward J. Goodman, The Explorers of South America (New York, 1972), 12.
4 the maran-i-hobo or cashew tree Cohen, Journeys, 52; Medina, Discovery, 154–63.
5 “for along the great rivers of the Old World” Cohen, Journeys, 53.
6 “recognized that we were now outside” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 189.
7 “endured more hardships and more hunger” Ibid.
8 “if it had not been observed by so many witnesses” Ibid.
9 “the fish, being opened up” Ibid., 190; Cohen, Journeys, 54.
10 “Before we had come within two leagues” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 190; quoted in Cohen, Journeys, 55.
11 Within his chiefdom Wood, Conquistadors, 220; Mann, 1491, 283–84; Hemming, El Dorado, 116.
12 “threatening as if they were going to devour” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 190.
13 “it seemed as if they wanted to seize hold” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 191. Interestingly, Toribio de Ortiguera records a different opening sequence to this initial battle with Machiparo’s armies. In his account, which seems to be recorded only by Hemming (among the modern historians), the initial meeting goes like this: “[A village called] Machiparo, from which a few Indians in canoes came out on the river to meet them, and they gave them to understand that their chief and overlord desired to see them and find out of what nationality they were and whither they were bound and what they were looking for; and they indicated to them that they should leap out on land. The Spaniards moved on in their brigantines in the direction of the shore, although with considerable caution, formed in good order, their arquebuses loaded, their matches lighted, their crossbows with cords drawn back and with their arrows in them. At the time, then, that they pulled in there, as soon as they had gotten up to the village, as the chief saw them to be of different dress and aspect from all the other people that he had ever seen, and all bearded (for the Indians are not), to a certain degree he revered them, and … he ordered his subjects to leave a section of the village free, with all the food that was in it … for consumption …” Ortiguera, in Medina, Discovery, 317–18. In this version, only after the Spaniards became unruly and poor guests did Machiparo order his men to attack. There are a few significant differences and contradictions in this version—one is that Carvajal says the powder was damp, and that contradicts the above, in which they had their “matches lighted”; also, Carvajal records no direct meeting with the chief Machiparo, though Ortiguera does. See Hemming, Tree of Rivers, 29, and El Dorado, 115. Most historians seem to side with Carvajal’s version, which is at any rate in keeping with what Aparia the Great predicted would happen when the Spaniards reached Machiparo’s kingdom.
14 “There were a great number of men” Quoted in Medina, Discovery, 191.
15 “the great extent of the settlement” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 191; Cohen, Journeys, 56; Ortiguera, in Medina, Discovery, 318; Hemming, Tree of Rivers, 30; Smith, E
xplorers, 66.
16 “There was a great quantity of food” Medina, Discovery, 192.
17 “large quantities of honey from bees” Ortiguera, in Medina, Discovery, 319.
18 “with a small amount [of manatee]” Cristóbal de Acuña, quoted in Meggers, Amazonia, 127.
19 “larger than a good sized wheel” Quoted in Meggers, Amazonia, 126. The turtle farming process is described in detail here also by Cristóbal de Acuña, in Meggers, Amazonia, 126–27; also reproduced in Hemming, Tree of Rivers, 30; see also Hemming, El Dorado, 115.
20 He told them to hurry Cohen, Journeys, 56; Smith, Explorers, 66.
21 “applying to the [babies’] forehead a small board” Samuel Fritz, quoted in Meggers, Amazonia, 125.
22 “more like a poorly shaped bishop’s miter” Acuña, quoted in Meggers, Amazonia, 125. Also in Samuel Fritz, Journal of the Travels and Labours of Father Samuel Fritz in the River of the Amazons Between 1686 and 1723, translated from the Evora manuscript and edited by the Reverend Dr. George Edmundson (Hakluyt Society, London, 1922), 47. See also Hemming, Tree of Rivers, 56.
23 “came back at Cristóbal Maldonado” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 193.
24 “fought so courageously” Ibid., 194.
25 One experienced fighter named Blas de Medina Cohen, Journeys, 57.
26 “no other remedy but a certain charm” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 195; Cohen, Journeys, 58.
27 acts of superstition and charms Medina, Discovery, 241n. Cohen, Journeys, 58. Some of the practices of Omagua religion and magic are described in Meggers, Amazonia, 130. For a fascinating, far-reaching, and detailed study of Amazonian witchcraft, sorcery, and shamanism, see Neil L. Whitehead and Robin Wright, editors, In Darkness and Secrecy: The Anthropology of Assault Sorcery and Witchcraft in Amazonia (Durham, North Carolina, and London, 2004).
28 “all were cured except the one who died” Carvajal, in Medina, Discovery, 195.
29 “recalling to them the hardships already endured” Ibid., 195.
30 “explore the country” Ibid., 195; Cohen, Journeys, 58.
