which abound in gold. And by this Wanuretona I had knowledge that on
the head of this river were three mighty nations, which were seated on
a great lake, from whence this river descended, and were called
Cassipagotos, Eparegotos, and Arawagotos (the Purigotos and Arinagotos
are still settled on the upper tributaries of the Caroni river, no such
lake as that mentioned is known to exist); and that all those either
against the Spaniards or the Epuremei would join with us, and that if we
entered the land over the mountains of Curaa we should satisfy ourselves
with gold and all other good things. He told us farther of a nation
called Iwarawaqueri, before spoken of, that held daily war with the
Epuremei that inhabited Macureguarai, and first civil town of Guiana, of
the subjects of Inga, the emperor.

Upon this river one Captain George, that I took with Berreo, told me
that there was a great silver mine, and that it was near the banks of
the said river. But by this time as well Orenoque, Caroli, as all the
rest of the rivers were risen four or five feet in height, so as it was
not possible by the strength of any men, or with any boat whatsoever,
to row into the river against the stream. I therefore sent Captain Thyn,
Captain Greenvile, my nephew John Gilbert, my cousin Butshead Gorges,
Captain Clarke, and some thirty shot more to coast the river by land,
and to go to a town some twenty miles over the valley called Amnatapoi;
and they found guides there to go farther towards the mountain foot
to another great town called Capurepana, belonging to a cacique called
Haharacoa, that was a nephew to old Topiawari, king of Aromaia, our
chiefest friend, because this town and province of Capurepana adjoined
to Macureguarai, which was a frontier town of the empire. And the
meanwhile myself with Captain Gifford, Captain Caulfield, Edward
Hancock, and some half-a-dozen shot marched overland to view the strange
overfalls of the river of Caroli, which roared so far off; and also to