Page:Narrative of the Proceedings of Pedrarias Davila (Haklyut, 34).djvu/88

 it for food. But it defended itself so fiercely that, though we stabbed it many times, we could not cut through its skin, and so by little and little, fighting all the way, it got down to the water.

Two years before we came to Paris, a great army of people arrived there, coming from the direction of Nicaragua; and they were so fierce that the natives came out to offer them all they wanted. They ate human flesh; and this filled the people of all the districts through which they passed with fear. In one province, bordering on Paris, called Tauraba, they encamped on a plain, to which they took the boys of the neighbouring villages, that they might eat them. Here a sore disease broke out amongst them, which made them raise their camp, and retire to the seashore. Cutatara, the lord of Paris, seeing them enfeebled by sickness and carelessly off their guard, from never having been resisted, fell upon them one morning, defeated them, and killed every one, so that none were saved. He took the spoil, among which was much gold, and became very rich.

In the year 1522, being Inspector-General of the Indians, I set out from Panama to visit the surrounding territory to the eastward; and after reaching the gulf of San Miguel, I went on to visit a province called Chochama, which is populous, and where the same language is spoken as in the districts of Cueva. Here I learnt how certain people came by sea in canoes to make war at every full moon; and the inhabitants of that province were so terrified at their approach, that they feared to go to sea to fish. These invaders came from a province called Birú, the name of which has been corrupted to Pirú. All the land in that direction was inhabited by a numerous and warlike people. To comply with the prayer of the people of Chochama that I would defend them, and in order to discover what there was further on, I sent to Panama for reinforcements.