razors and packets of powder, made from dry herbs, are fastened to their ends. The cacique and the principal nobles, each in his proper place, accompany the pricsts, after which follows the confused popular multitude. Nobody is absent, for every man who can stand must assist at this festival of superstition. When the procession reaches the appointed place, fragrant herbs are first thrown on the ground, after which draperies are spread, so that the idol shall not touch the earth. The procession stops, but the priests continue supporting the idol, in whose honour they chant their accustomed hymns. Young men perform sacred dances, lead the singing, and play different games, in which they display their agility in throwing javelins and using their shields.

When the priests give a signal, each man takes a razor, and cuts his tongue, turning his eyes towards the divinity; some pierce the tongue, others cut it in such wise as to cause a great flow of blood. Each man then rubs the lips and beard of this odious idol, with his blood, as we have said in our first description of sacrifices, after which the powdered herbs are sprinkled on the fresh wounds. Such is the virtue of this powder, that the wounds close in a few hours so that no trace of them is ever again visible. When the ceremony is finished, the priests lower the idol somewhat and then, first the cacique, after him the nobles, and finally the people address it. They expose their anxieties or supplicate it to give ear to their wishes and petitions, always speaking softly with bent heads and in a tremor of respect; when this priestly mummery is finished they go home.

While the Spaniards were witnessing these ceremonies, a scout appeared, quickly followed by a second and then by a number of others, who announced the arrival of Diriangen and his armed subjects. The cacique came intending not only to take back what he had given, but also to exterminate the Spaniards. He hoped to vanquish

this handful of soldiers and capture their possessions, for these natives also love gold; not because they use it for money, but because they make necklaces and ornaments of it. Diriangen was followed by a numerous escort of armed men, and if he had surprised the Spaniards off their guard, he would have killed them to the last man. He sounded the attack and the fight was gallantly sustained till night.

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BOOK VIII

ANY particulars follow which I omit for fear of wearying you, and of making you a bore to the Sovereign Pontiff and your friends. To sum up, the little band of Spaniards routed the large native army, and Egidius piously reports that God, who is the master of armies, assisted them in their terror and rescued them safe and sound from danger. Fortune having changed her face, the cacique Nicoiano who had been left behind, formed a similar plan to kill the Spaniards and rob them of the important sum of gold they had with them.

Egidius Gonzales, suspecting this treason, took his precautions against Nicoiano, closing up the ranks of his soldiers and prescribing the order of march. The sick and the gold were placed in the centre of the troop; he with his four horsemen and seventy archers and arquebusiers sustained the charge of his assailants and killed a great number of them. He never slept the whole night, but when the natives asked peace the following morning, he granted it.

Upon reaching Port St. Vincent, their starting-place, the Spaniards found their ships had returned. While the captain, Egidius, was exploring the interior of the country, the ships had reconnoitred about three hundred leagues of hitherto unknown coast extending westward. They had only put into port to repair the damages their ships had sustained during a voyage of several months.

Gonzales describes the neighbourhood of the region oc

cupied by Nicoragua as follows: in the interior, just near the residence of the cacique, was found a fresh-water lake1 so large that its end was not discovered. The waters of this lake are subject to tides, and it must therefore be considered a fresh-water sea. It has many islands. When asked whether its outlet was into the neighbouring sea, only three leagues distant, the natives answered that they knew of no outlet; and Gonzales says he does not know whether it flows into the South Sea, which is near by, or elsewhere. He thinks, nevertheless, that this body of water connects with the northern ocean and that the much-desired strait may be found there, in which opinion he is sustained by several pilots. If you wish to know my opinion on this subject, I would say that Gonzales thus excuses himself for not finding the strait, since both the potable quality of these lake waters and also the ignorance of the natives along its shores concerning its extent and outlet leave us in the same uncertainty as before. We are ignorant whether or no a strait, dividing those vast countries, exists.

'Lake Nicaragua; its superficial area measures 950 square kilometres. Its outlet is the San Juan River which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. There is a tradition amongst the Indians that there existed in ancient times another river flowing from the lake into the Pacific. Of the several islands dotting the lake's surface the most considerable is that formed by the volcano Zapatero and named Ceiba.

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BOOK IX

ET me now pause. The foregoing narrative being completed, my secretary had his hat on ready

to start, when Diego Arias, son of the governor Pedro Arias, came to see me bringing with him the licenciate, Espinosa, whom I have elsewhere mentioned. Espinosa alleges that he and the governor, Pedro Arias, had been injured by Egidius Gonzales, affirming that these regions had long since been discovered by them and the caciques pacified and maintained in their authority over their states. The decision of our Royal Council which will be confirmed by the Emperor, will be made known, through you, to people interested in this kind of news. Enough for the present concerning this subject.

I beg you to profit by the first opportunity to kiss the feet of our Most Holy Clement on my behalf. The Spaniards will have faith in the favour and merit of His Holiness as long as he has faith in yours. They find it quite proper that the great of this world should take you into their confidence, because they have long appreciated you. The character of princes may often be accurately judged by the choice they make of their ministers.

There is a third piece of quite fresh news which, since the courier has not actually left, I believe His Holiness will be glad to hear. In the decade dedicated to Pope Adrian, in which I described the Moluccas where spices grow, I alluded to the dispute between the Portuguese and the Castilians regarding the discovery of that archi