306 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I02 



their native language and speak ours. It is a village of little over 

 30 houses ; all that district, as far as the sea and the mountains, is 

 thickly covered with herds or ranches of cattle, fields of corn, and 

 sawmills turning out planks, beams, and other lumber for ships and 

 for export to Lima ; there are likewise some sugar mills ; so it runs 

 all the 12 leagues to Panama. 



901. Proceeding W. from Panama, at 30 leagues comes the city 

 of Nata, an Indian and Spanish settlement ; it is small, but well 

 supplied with provisions, and very attractive, so that it seems like 

 a garden. Eight leagues farther on is the town of Los Santos, a 

 settlement with 200 Spanish residents, and with abundant supplies 

 and conveniences ; nearby is the Indian village of Parita, where all 

 the Indians talk Spanish, having forgotten their native mother tongue. 

 In this district lie the Indian villages of Code and Penonome, whose 

 Indians are civilized and good fighters. The President of Panama 

 appoints a Corregidor for this district, for its good government and 

 the administration of justice. This district borders on that of the 

 State and Province of Veragua. 



Chapter IV 



Which Gives a Description of the Provinces of Veragua, and the 

 Cities Established There. 



902. Ten leagues beyond the town of Santos, to the W., and 

 48 from Panama, begins the Province and State of Veragua. Here 

 His Majesty, in consultation with the Supreme Council of the Indies, 

 appoints a Governor with the title of Captain General, for its good 

 government and the administration of justice, and with the power 

 of assigning Indians, although the assignments are poor and insignifi- 

 cant, there being very few natives, most having gone back to their 

 heathendom. But the present Governor, Don Juan Cortes de Monroy, 

 Knight of the Order of Santiago and son of the Militia Captain of 

 the Kingdom of Chile, Pedro Cortes de Monroy, was brought up in 

 the Chile Indian wars and is doing well in the conversion of the 

 Indians, bringing many to the knowledge of our Holy Faith. 



903. All this Province and State has few natives but great wealth 

 in gold ore ; it is all paved with this metal ; the rivers and streams 

 carry it ; but since there is nobody to do the washing and extraction, 

 they get little profit from this wealth. There are many sawmills for 

 valuable timber, like cedar and other highly prized wood ; they turn 

 out planks, beams, and other lumber, which is exported to Lima. 

 The sawmills in this province are the largest and best on the Pacific 



