WHOLE VOL. THE WEST INDIES — VAZQUEZ DE ESPINOSA 263 



quantities of wheat, corn, and other cereals and vegetables, both 

 indigenous and of Spanish varieties. They get the best sarsaparilla 

 in all the Indies, and work up very fine henequen fibre in all colors. 

 They have many sorts of medicinal fruits, gums, extracts, and roots, 

 and tobacco ; and in all the district of these provinces there are rich 

 deposits of gold ore, and so gold sand is found in all the streams. 

 This province is the easternmost of New Spain ; it borders on hostile 

 Indians, and on the Province of Veragua in the district of the Circuit 

 Court and Diocese of Panama. 



756. Near the city of Cartago, another city of Spaniards named 

 Talamanca was once established ; but thanks to the negligence and 

 bad administration of the Spaniards, the Indians rebelled and laid it 

 waste, killing many of them ; and although since then Governor 

 Olivera undertook the task of pacification and conquest, he did not 

 accomplish anything of importance, for he thought more of his own 

 personal interest than of the well-being of his soldiers and the con- 

 version of so many souls. So [the Indians, who previously were 

 tractable] they remain rebellious and in their free estate and idolatry. 

 The country is very rich in gold and other things of value ; the Indians 

 are very intelligent and great silversmiths ; hence most of them wear 

 gold pins (?) and spirals, pendants, and other ornaments of much 

 value. These Indians border on many other provinces of heathen, 

 all wealthy, and on the Province of Tegucigalpa, where there are 

 more than 300,000 Indians, plus women and children, to be converted 

 to our Holy Faith. 



757. Every year many Spaniards traverse this Province of Costa 

 Rica on their way to those of Veragua and Panama, with mules from 

 Honduras and Nicaragua, to sell them in Panama for the transport 

 trade to Puerto Bello. After leaving Costa Rica they have to travel 

 over 100 leagues through settlements of heathen Indians before 

 reaching the Province of Veragua, but these heathen come out peace- 

 fully to guide and serve the Spaniards and barter native products 

 and fruit with them for axes, knives, and other articles, and are very 

 faithful and obedient to them ; so it would be easy to pacify them. 

 This must suffice for the district of Costa Rica in the Diocese of 

 Nicaragua ; now we shall deal with the volcanoes to be found in 

 this region. 



Chapter XXXII 



Of the Active Volcanoes To Be Found in These Provinces and the 

 Rest of the Indies [and What Causes Them]. 



758. In this Province of Nicaragua and in much of the Indies 

 there are many volcanoes which are constantly erupting flame ; such 



