of these men they gathered that there were two
caciques in these regions, one on the coast, called Periqueta, another
in the interior, called Totonogo; the latter being blind. These two
men were fishermen who had been sent by their cacique Totonogo, to
Periqueta, with a burden of fish, which they had traded for bread.[8]
Trade is thereabouts carried on by exchange in kind, and not by means
of gold, which claims so many victims. Led by these two natives, the
Spaniards reached the country of Totonogo, the cacique whose country
extends along the west side of the gulf of San Miguel on the south
sea. This chieftain gave them six thousand castellanos of gold, partly
in ingots and partly worked; amongst the former was one which weighed
two castellanos, proving that gold exists in abundance in this region.

[Note 8: There has evidently at some time been an error of
transcription: the cacique Totonogo, who is first mentioned as ruling
along the sea-coast, is now described as sending fish to his neighbour
Periqueta.]

Following along the western coast, the Spaniards visited the cacique
Taracuru, from whom they obtained eight thousand pesos; a peso, as we
have already said, corresponding to an unminted castellano. They next
marched into the country of his brother Pananome, who fled and was
seen no more. His subjects declared the country to be rich in gold.
The Spaniards destroyed his residence. Six leagues farther on they
came to the country of another cacique called Tabor, and then to that
of another called Cheru. The latter received the Spaniards amicably,
and offered them four thousand pesos. He possesses valuable salt
deposits, and the country is rich in gold. Twelve miles farther they
came to another cacique called Anata, from whom they obtained twelve
thousand pesos, which the cacique had captured from neighbouring
chieftains whom he had conquered. This gold was even scorched, because
it had been carried out of the burning houses of his enemies. These
caciques rob and massacre one another, and destroy their villages,
during their atrocious wars. They give no quarter, and the victors
make a clean sweep of everything.[9]

[Note 9: This was everywhere the case on the mainland; while it
does not excuse the cruelties inflicted by the Spaniards upon the
native populations in their rapacious struggle for wealth, it may
temper the undiscriminating sympathy of the emotional to reflect that
oppression, torture, extortion, and slav