WHOLE VOL. THE WEST INDIES VAZQUEZ DE ESPINOSA III 



tile country ; adjoining that is the Province of Cofaqui, whose inhabi- 

 tants are good-natured and intelHgent, with fertile fields under culti- 

 vation. After 7 short days' journey comes the Province of Cofachi- 

 qui ; the Indians in these provinces go clothed in cloaks of very valu- 

 able marten fur ; the country is fertile, cool, and well settled ; it 

 belonged to a handsome unmarried chieftainess, who received the 

 Spaniards peaceably and kindly ; the people of all this province are 

 well-disposed and intelligent. The chief village, where the chief- 

 tainess resided, was a large one, built on the banks of a mighty river 

 in which grow many large oysters ; in them are produced countless 

 fine pearls, and so the lady and other chief personages wore necklaces 

 of them. In the temples they kept large chests like coffins in which 

 were preserved the bodies and burials of their lords and chief person- 

 ages and many baskets of pearls ; of these, with the permission of 

 the lady, the Spaniards took such a quantity that they weighed out 

 20 arrobas (of 25 lbs. each) of them, for all the streams produce 

 them in abundance, and the mother of this lady, who resided in 

 another village 12 leagues distant on the banks of this same river, 

 was said to possess more than 12 cartloads (of 4 bushels each) of 

 pearls. There were in these provinces many well-dressed antelope 

 skins and martens, rich mines of copper pyrites, and mines of a sort 

 of very curious mineral like sifted white pyrites (margajita). In 

 these provinces there are many villages where the natives have fields 

 of corn and other cereals, and quantities of fruit. 



315. From this province one goes 24 leagues NE. to Chalaque, all 

 of it attractive country with pleasant meadows and prairies dotted 

 with field cabins and plots under cultivation, up to the valley of Xuala. 

 a territory rich in food crops, under the same chieftainess. In all this 

 province they have many Indian slaves, obtained in war with other 

 districts, whom they keep hobbled (desocados) for work in the fields 

 and for the personal service of their owners, so that they cannot get 

 away. It is 400 leagues to this province from the Bay of Espiritu 

 Santo, with many remarkable and valuable features beyond what has 

 been briefly described in this chapter ; and the complete failure and 

 collapse of Gov. Hernando de Soto and his Spaniards, resulted in 

 nonsettlement of many most suitable districts which the local chiefs 

 afifably requested them to colonize ; had they done so, the colonies 

 would have grown greatly and another kingdom would have been 

 established as extensive as that of New Spain. 



