take possession of the South Sea already
discovered. The most extraordinary thing of all is, that on a
continent of such length and breadth, the distance to the South Sea
was not more than fifty-one miles, or seventeen leagues. In Spain
people never count by miles; the land league equals three miles, and
the marine league four miles. When they reached the summit of the
mountain chain, which is the watershed, they found there a cacique
called Javana. Both the country and its ruler bear the name of Coiba,
as we have already stated is the case, at Careta. As the country of
Javana is the richest of all in gold, it is called Coiba Rica. And in
fact, wherever one digs, whether on dry land or in the river-beds,
the sand is found to contain gold. The cacique Javana fled when the
Spaniards approached, nor was it possible to overtake him. They then
set to work to ravage the neighbourhood of his town, but found
very little gold, for the cacique had taken with him in his flight
everything he possessed. They found, however, some slaves who were
branded in a painful fashion. The natives cut lines in the faces of
the slaves, using a sharp point either of gold or of a thorn; they
then fill the wounds with a kind of powder dampened with black or
red juice, which forms an indelible dye and never disappears. The
Spaniards took these slaves with them. It seems that this juice is
corrosive and produces such terrible pain that the slaves are unable
to eat on account of their sufferings. Both the kings who originally
captured these slaves in war, and also the Spaniards, put them to work
hunting gold or tilling the fields.

Leaving the town of Javana, the Spaniards followed the watershed for
ten miles, and entered the territory of another chief, whom they
called the "Old Man," because they were heedless of his name and took
notice only of his age. Everywhere in the country of this cacique,
both in the riverbeds and in the soil, gold was found. Streams were
abundant and the county was everywhere rich and fertile. Leaving that
place, the Spaniards marched for five days through a desert country
which they thought had been devastated by war, for though the greater
part of it was fertile, it was neither inhabited nor cultivated.
On the fifth day they perceived in the distance two heavily laden
natives, approaching them. Marching upon them, they captured the men,
and found that they were carrying sacks of maize on their shoulders.
From the answers