New Discovery of the Great River of the Amazons.

Almost on the first discovery of that part of America, which now bears the name of Peru, vehement desires arose in Spain, though the information was still defective, for the discovery of that great river of the Amazons, called, by a vulgar error among those little versed in geography, the river of Mara n ¯ on. ¹ These desires did not arise on account of the abundant riches which that river was always supposed to possess, nor on account of the multitudes of people who dwelt on its banks, nor on account of the fertility of the lands, and the pleasant climate; but chiefly because it was believed with reason to be the only channel, and as it were a great highway, which flowing from Peru, was fed by all the tributaries which descend from the lofty Cordilleras.