CHAPTER X

    How the captain Robledo discovered the province of Paucura, how the ensign Suer de Nava returned to Pozo, and how he perpetrated other cruelties worse than the former ones, and how Robledo left Paucura to explore the great and very rich province of Arma.

WHAT I have related in the last chapter having taken place, and the captain having recovered from his wounds, we departed for the province of Paucura, where the principal Chief was one named Pimaná, who was also an enemy of the people of Pozo, but allied¹ by lineage, speech, and customs to those of Picara, a populous² and very fertile province. As they had heard what the Christians³ had done in Pozo, and were friends of Pimaná's relations in Picara, they agreed to submit peaceably and to bring in plenty of provisions, and so it was done. We arrived at Paucura in the afternoon of a Wednesday, and they showed much joy at our coming. So we lodged⁴ there as friends. When all our force had arrived, a soldier named Miranda said that certain pigs, which had gone amissing from the men who were bringing them, had been stolen by the Indians of Pozo. It was no great crime, nor ought it to have been punished with the cruelty which we must now describe. When Robledo was told of the loss of the pigs he was very angry, saying that the Pozo Indians had not kept the peace to which they had agreed, and that he would punish them for being false friends. He then[28] ordered his ensign to go with fifty Spaniards, horse and foot, to Pozo and punish the theft of the pigs. When the people of Paucura heard of the return of the Spaniards to Pozo they rejoiced at the good opportunity of doing all the injury they could to the people of Pozo, who were their enemies, so when Suer de Nava left the camp he was joined by over 3,000 Paucura?os. All united marched rapidly and, arriving in Pozo, they began to do great harm to the unfortunate people, burning their houses, ruining their villages, and robbing what they contained. That the sin might be greater, more than two hundred souls were murdered by the Paucura?os, who cut the bodies in pieces as if they had been saddles of mutton or legs of beef, and carried them off to their homes. It was surely a strange thing to see rational beings so very fond of human flesh, so that to obtain it there was no peace between fathers and their sons and brothers. As soon as Suer de Nava had recovered the pigs, and settled some terms of peace with the Pozo people, he returned to the province of Paucura where the captain had remained.

Robledo had received tidings that at no great distance to the westward⁵ [sic] was situated⁶ the great and very rich province of Arma, which is the largest and most populous in all Peru, and where, if the natives could be domesticated⁷, such a supply of gold might be obtained that the Spaniards settling there would become the richest in all those parts. Desirous of exploring these regions in order to form a new settlement, Robledo made his preparations and left Paucura accompanied by some of the Chiefs and many Indians; and we went on until we reached the crests⁸ of some mountains.

By this time the arrival of the Spaniards was known in all the villages of that great province. Our deeds were exaggerated. It was said that with one blow of a sword we could cut open an Indian, and with one thrust of a lance we could run him through, but what terrified them most was[29] to hear the way a bolt was shot from a cross-bow, and the furious velocity⁹ with which it flew; while they also wondered at the speed of the horses. Finally they had debated among themselves as to whether they should keep the peace with us or come out to make war on us, and they had consulted their devils in regard to this. One may believe that the reply and counsel savoured of the oracle¹⁰ who gave them, and all watched for the part where the Spaniards would approach, to decide on what they would do. We set out from where, as I have said, we passed the previous night, and marched to the borders of the province. When we came in sight of a summit we heard a great noise, many drums beating and horns being blown. It was so in truth, for when the natives saw us coming that way they concealed¹¹ their property and their women and children, and of one accord came out in warlike array to face us. When the captain heard the noise, he ordered all his men to form in order with their arms, and march to the summit. This was done. The shouts of the natives increased, while we advanced in leisurely¹² fashion towards them. And although they tried to dismay us with their clamour, and by means of huge stones sent rolling down the hill, it availed them nought¹³, because the daring of the Spaniards is so great that nothing in the world can daunt¹⁴ them; and so, in spite of all, they reached the summit and put the Indians to flight.

1 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

2 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

3 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

4 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 westward   

n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西

参考例句：

• We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
• Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。

6 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

7 domesticated   

adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He is thoroughly domesticated and cooks a delicious chicken casserole. 他精于家务，烹制的砂锅炖小鸡非常可口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The donkey is a domesticated form of the African wild ass. 驴是非洲野驴的一种已驯化的品种。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 crests   

v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点

参考例句：

• The surfers were riding in towards the beach on the crests of the waves. 冲浪者们顺着浪头冲向岸边。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The correspondent aroused, heard the crash of the toppled crests. 记者醒了，他听见了浪头倒塌下来的轰隆轰隆声。 来自辞典例句

9 velocity   

n.速度，速率

参考例句：

• Einstein's theory links energy with mass and velocity of light.爱因斯坦的理论把能量同质量和光速联系起来。
• The velocity of light is about 300000 kilometres per second.光速约为每秒300000公里。

10 oracle   

n.神谕，神谕处，预言

参考例句：

• In times of difficulty,she pray for an oracle to guide her.在困难的时候，她祈祷神谕来指引她。
• It is a kind of oracle that often foretells things most important.它是一种内生性神谕，常常能预言最重要的事情。

11 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

12 leisurely   

adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的

参考例句：

• We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。
• He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。

13 nought   

n.／adj.无，零

参考例句：

• We must bring their schemes to nought.我们必须使他们的阴谋彻底破产。
• One minus one leaves nought.一减一等于零。

14 daunt   

vt.使胆怯，使气馁

参考例句：

• Danger did not daunt the hero.危险并没有吓倒这位英雄。
• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us.再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。