tow. We have said that, according to the Indians, the land separating
the north from the south sea can be traversed in six days. I am not a
little puzzled both by the number and size of the rivers described,
and by the small breadth of that stretch of land; nor do I understand
how such large rivers can possibly flow down from these mountains,
only three days' march from the sea, and empty into the north ocean.
I cannot understand it, for I presume that equally large rivers empty
into the south sea. Doubtless the rivers of Uraba are not so important
when compared with others, but the Spaniards declare that during the
lifetime of Columbus they discovered and have since sailed upon a
river the breadth of whose mouth, where it empties into the sea, is
not less than one hundred miles. This river is on the borders of
Paria, and descends with such force from the high mountains that it
overwhelms the sea even at high tide or when it is swept by violent
winds, driving back the waves before the fury and weight of its
current. The waters of the sea for a large area round about are no
longer salt but fresh, and pleasant to the taste. The Indians call
this river Maragnon.[6] Other tribes give it the names Mariatambal,
Camamoros, or Paricora. In addition to the rivers I have before
mentioned, the Darien, Rio Grande, Dobaiba, San Matteo, Veragua,
Boiogatti, Lagartos, and Gaira, there are also others which water the
country. I wonder, Most Holy Father, what must be the size of these
mountain caverns so near the seacoast, and, according to the Indians,
so narrow, and what sources they have to enable them to send forth
such torrents of water? Several explanations suggest themselves to my
mind.

[Note 6: Just which river is meant is not clear. The description
would seem to fit the Orinoco, but Maragnon is the native name for the
Amazon. This last name is given exclusively to the upper part of the