ABSTRACT
THE reader will remember that in previous chapters we mentioned the great labours and dire want of Gonzalo Pizarro and those who survived in the valley of the Canela, and the great desire they felt that God, our Lord, would show them some way by which they might return 290to a Christian land. Having heard the account of the two Spaniards who had gone up the river in a canoe, and how they had seen that great mountain range or cordillera, Gonzalo Pizarro resolved to ascend the river with the remnant of his men as speedily as possible. So all the people got ready, some Spaniards going ahead to clear the way with axes and bush knives. Passing not a few swamps, they arrived after ten days’ travel at the mark left by the men who had gone up the river before. Here Gonzalo Pizarro ordered Juan de Acosta to go with a small party, as quickly as possible, to where the Indians said there was a village. Juan de Acosta thereupon set out with eighteen Spaniards, armed with their swords and bucklers, and after walking for a good long time, they came to the village they were in quest of, on a high hill and very strong. But the Indians had no mind to admit them if they could help it, and with their usual dash they came out armed to oppose them. Juan de Acosta and his companions, though exhausted by hunger, entered like true Spaniards upon the encounter. After Juan de Acosta and two others had been wounded, the Indians fled, as usual. The Spaniards then ascended the hill and rushed the village, where they found plenty of food, to the no small delight of those sorry starvelings. They saw that the country they were in was a vast uninhabited wilderness, which must be traversed to reach Quito. Gonzalo Pizarro followed Juan de Acosta with the rest of the party, and in passing those swamps eight Spaniards died. When the worn-out survivors knew that they must cross that great wilderness, they were much afflicted, having all passed through so many hardships and sufferings. They cursed their luck which had been so adverse to them. But in the end, making the best of their misfortunes, those who remained alive prepared to face
