t them spread as he sailed up the
river for two thousand miles or more to the eastern foot of the great
mountains of South America, the Andes.

The exploration of the Amazon, however, fell to the lot of another
man, Francisco Orellana by name. Orellana did not sail up the river
from its mouth, but came down it from one of its sources. This was
in 1540, many years, as you see, after Pinzon and Cabral had anchored
at the mouth.

Orellana was one of Pizarro's men, and had been with him when the Inca
of Peru was taken and afterwards put to death. It was Francisco Pizarro,
as you well know, who conquered Peru. After Francisco Pizarro had
conquered the country, he made his brother, Gonzalo Pizarro, governor
of Quito.

This brother, while at Quito, made up his mind to cross the Andes
Mountains and explore the country beyond. So he got ready an expedition,
and made Orellana his lieutenant; Orellana was, therefore, second in
command of the expedition.

The army was made up of three hundred and fifty Spaniards, four
thousand Indians, and one thousand bloodhounds for hunting down the
natives.

They had a hard march over the Andes, and suffered very much in crossing.
When they were over the mountains, they discovered a river flowing
toward the southeast. This was the river Napo.

Pizarro had had so hard a march across the Andes that he felt his men
could not stand it to go back by the same way. He therefore encamped
by the Napo River, and spent seven months in building a vessel to hold
his baggage and those of his men who were ill.

He put Orellana in charge of the vessel, and ordered him to float slowly
down the river while the other part of the army marched along the shore.
The march was very slow and toilsome, and after a few weeks the food
began to get low.

At this time Pizarro heard of a rich country farther down the stream,
where the Napo flowed into a larger river. This country he wished to
reach. So he sent Orellana in the vessel, with fifty soldiers, down
the Napo to the larger river. There Orellana was to get food and
supplies for the army and then return.

Pizarro waited and waited in vain for Orellana to return, and at last
he and his men had to find their way back across the Andes with scanty
food and undergo great hardships.

Orellana and the soldiers with him were carried by the current swiftly
down the Napo, and in three days they came into the great river. It
was indeed a great river, for the Amazon