increase if other princes forslow the good occasions offered, and suffer
him to add this empire to the rest, which by far exceedeth all the rest.
If his gold now endanger us, he will then be unresistible. Such of the
Spaniards as afterwards endeavoured the conquest thereof, whereof there
have been many, as shall be declared hereafter, thought that this Inga,
of whom this emperor now living is descended, took his way by the river
of Amazons, by that branch which is called Papamene (The Papamene is a
tributary not of the Amazon river but of the Meta, one of the principal
tributaries of the Orinoco). For by that way followed Orellana, by the
commandment of Gonzalo Pizarro, in the year 1542, whose name the river
also beareth this day. Which is also by others called Maranon, although
Andrew Thevet doth affirm that between Maranon and Amazons there are 120
leagues; but sure it is that those rivers have one head and beginning,
and the Maranon, which Thevet describeth, is but a branch of Amazons or
Orellana, of which I will speak more in another place. It was attempted
by Ordas; but it is now little less than 70 years since that Diego
Ordas, a Knight of the Order of Santiago, attempted the same; and it was
in the year 1542 that Orellana discovered the river of Amazons; but the
first that ever saw Manoa was Juan Martinez, master of the munition
to Ordas. At a port called Morequito (probably San Miguel), in Guiana,
there lieth at this day a great anchor of Ordas his ship. And this port
is some 300 miles within the land, upon the great river of Orenoque.
I rested at this port four days, twenty days after I left the ships at
Curiapan.

The relation of this Martinez, who was the first that discovered Manoa,
his success, and end, is to be seen in the Chancery of St. Juan de
Puerto Rico, whereof Berreo had a copy, which appeared to be the
greatest encouragement as well to Berreo as to others that formerly
attempted the discovery and conquest. Orellana, after he failed of the