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.

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