dst treat me thus cruelly? None of thy people ever came to
my land that were not fed, and sheltered, and treated with
loving kindness. When thou camest to my dwelling, did I meet
thee with a javelin in my hand? Did I not set meat and drink
before thee, and welcome thee as a brother? Set me free
therefore, with my family and people, and we will remain thy
friends. We will supply thee with provisions, and reveal to
thee the riches of the land. Dost thou doubt my faith? Behold
my daughter, I give her to thee as a pledge of friendship. Take
her for thy wife, and be assured of the fidelity of her family
and her people!'

"Vasco Nunez felt the force of these words, and knew the
importance of forming a strong alliance among the natives. The
captive maid, also, as she stood trembling and dejected before
him, found great favour in his eyes, for she was young and
beautiful. He granted, therefore, the prayer of the cacique,
and accepted his daughter, engaging, moreover, to aid the
father against his enemies, on condition of his furnishing
provisions to the colony.

"Careta remained three days at Darien, during which time, he
was treated with the utmost kindness. Vasco Nunez took him on
board of his ships and showed him every part of them. He
displayed before him also the war horses, with their armour and
rich caparisons, and astonished him with the thunder of
artillery. Lest he should be too much daunted by these warlike
spectacles, he caused the musicians to perform a harmonious
concert on their instruments, at which the cacique was lost in
admiration. Thus having impressed him with a wonderful idea of
the power and endowments of his new allies, he loaded him with
presents and permitted him to depart.

"Careta returned joyfully to his territories, and his daughter
remained with Vasco Nunez, willingly for his sake giving up her
family and native home. They were never married, but she
considered herself his wife, as she really was, according to
the usages of her own country, and he treated her with
fondness, allowing her gradually to acquire great influence
over him. To his affection for this damsel, his ultimate ruin
is, in some measure, to be ascribed."

Vasco Nunez did not neglect the favourable occasion these circumstances
offered, of exten