He left his creditors to talk of him as they thought fit, and,
bidding adieu for ever to the place in which he had once seen better times,
he penetrated thus far into these remote and gloomy wilds and ended his
days here.
According to the new map of South America, Lake Parima, or the White Sea,
ought to be within three or four days' walk from this place. On asking the
Indians whether there was such a place or not, and describing that the
water was fresh and good to drink, an old Indian, who appeared to be about
sixty, said that there was such a place, and that he had been there. This
information would have been satisfactory in some degree had not the Indians
carried the point a little too far. It is very large, said another Indian,
and ships come to it. Now these unfortunate ships were the very things
which were not wanted: had he kept them out, it might have done, but his
introducing them was sadly against the lake. Thus you must either suppose
that the old savage and his companion had a confused idea of the thing, and
that probably the Lake Parima they talked of was the Amazons, not far from
the city of Para, or that it was their intention to deceive you.
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