gulfs of Veragua, Uraba, and Cachibacoa, touching finally with his
ship at the region which, in our First Decade, we have explained was
called Paria and Boca de la Sierpe. He sailed into an immense gulf
noted by Columbus as remarkable for its fresh waters, the abundance of
fish, and the many islands it contained. It is situated about thirty
miles east of Curiana. Midway in this course Cumana and Manacapana
are passed; and it is at these places, not at Curiana, where the most
pearls are found.

The kings of that country, who are called _chiaconus_ just as they are
called caciques in Hispaniola, sent messengers when they learned of
the Spaniards' arrival, to ascertain who the unknown men might be,
what they brought with them, and what they wanted. They launched
upon the sea their barques dug out of tree trunks which are the same
mentioned in our First Decade, and are called canoes in Hispaniola;
but here the natives called them _chicos_. What most astonished them
was to see the swelling sails of the ship, for they did not understand
the use of sails; and if they did they would only require small ones,
because of the narrowness of their barques. They approached the ship
in great numbers and even ventured to shoot some arrows at the men who
defended the ship's sides as though they were walls, hoping either to
wound or frighten them.

The Spaniards fired their cannon, and the natives, alarmed by the
detonation and by the slaughter that resulted from the well-aimed
shot, took to flight in various directions. Pursuing them with a
ship's boat, the Spaniards killed some and took many prisoners. The
noise of the cannon and the report of what had happened so alarmed the
caciques, who feared their villages would be robbed and their people
massacred if the Spaniards landed to take vengeance, that they sent
messengers to Vincent Yanez. As far as could be understood from their
signs and gestures they sought peace; but our compatriots report
that they did not understand a word of their language. The better to
demonstrate their desire for peace, the natives made them beautiful
presents, consisting of a quantity of gold, equal in weight to three
thousand of the kind of coins we have said are called castellanos, and
in vulgar language pesos; also a wooden tub full of precious incense,
weighing about twenty-six hundred pounds, at eight ounces to the
pound. This showed the country was rich in incense, for the natives of
Paria have no in