ntirely in dry straw, binding
them in it and setting fire to it; and so they burned them. They
cut off the hands of all they wished to take alive, made them carry
them fastened on to them, and said: "Go and carry letters": that is;
take the news to those who have fled to the mountains.
8. They generally killed the lords and nobles in the following way.
They made wooden gridirons of stakes, bound them upon them, and made
a slow fire beneath: thus the victims gave up the spirit by degrees,
emitting cries of despair in their torture.
9. I once saw that they had four or five of the chief lords stretched
on the gridirons to burn them, and I think also there were two or
three pairs of gridirons, where they were burning others; and
because they cried aloud and annoyed the captain or prevented him
sleeping, he commanded that they should strangle them: the officer
who was burning them was worse than a hangman and did not wish to
suffocate them, but with his own hands he gagged them, so that they
should not make themselves heard, and he stirred up the fire, until
they roasted slowly, according to his pleasure. I know his name,
and knew also his relations in Seville. I saw all the above things
and numberless others.
9. And because all the people who could flee, hid among the mountains
and climbed the crags to escape from men so deprived of humanity, so
wicked, such wild beasts, exterminators and capital enemies of all
the human race, the Spaniards taught and trained the fiercest
boar-hounds to tear an Indian to pieces as soon as they saw him, so
that they more willingly attacked and ate one, than if he had been a
boar. These hounds made great havoc and slaughter.
10. And because sometimes, though rarely, the Indians killed a few
Christians for just cause, they made a law among themselves, that
for one Christian whom the Indians killed, the Christians should
kill a hundred Indians.

The Kingdoms that were in Hispaniola

There were five very large and principal kingdoms in this island of
Hispaniola, and five very mighty kings, whom all the other
numberless lords obeyed, although some of the lords of certain
separate provinces did not recognise any of them as superior. One
kingdom was called Magua, with the l