The Rivers Ran East - Travelers' Tales Classics (Paperback)

Long out of print, this is a riveting firsthand account of Leonard Clark's search for the legendary lost Seven Cities of Cibola -- reputedly home to enormous reserves of gold -- in a rain forest east of the Peruvian Andes. En route, he acquires vast knowledge about the lives of South America's indigenous peoples.

A former U.S. Army intelligence officer, Clark is joined on his expedition by Inez Pokorny, a gutsy, multilingual female sidekick and fellow explorer. Their treacherous journey includes encounters with headhunting Juarvo Indians, man-eating jaguars, 40-foot-long anacondas, poisonous plants, and shamanistic healers. Against the odds, Clark and Pokorny reach their destination, but nearly starve to death trying to transport sacks of gold out of the dense tropical foliage.