WHOLE VOL. THE WEST INDIES — VAZQUEZ DE ESPINOSA 64I 



country places and farms belonging to Spaniards, with vineyards, 

 fields of wheat, corn, and other cereals, and large llama and sheep 

 ranches. Tomina is a Spanish town, and capital of the province ; 

 it is the residence of the Corregidor appointed by the Viceroy for 

 the satisfactory government of the province and for the administration 

 of justice. 



1679. From Tomina it is 6 leagues to San Juan de Rodas, another 

 Spanish town, and 6 again to San Juan al Villar, a Spanish village. 

 From El Villar it is 7 to the Rio del Pescado ; here are fine, iertile 

 valleys, with vineyards, sugar plantations and mills, and plenty of 

 Spanish and native fruit. All this is frontier country with the 

 Chiriguanaes, and not safe, for every day they make a thousand 

 raids, murdering the Spaniards, Negroes, and Indians on the farms 

 and carrying ofif their women. Twelve leagues into the mountain 

 country of these savage Chiriguanaes, Capt. Andres Manso had 

 settled ; and for lack of reinforcements, they were all of them mas- 

 sacred. In the year 161 5, Capt. Ruy Diaz made a new settlement 

 there, the land being good and fertile and the climate favorable ; 

 he lived there 3 years, but no aid was sent him ; he got out alive 

 but they killed many [of his] people. This district has very rich 

 silver and gold mines, for the whole country is paved with them ; 

 but they are not exploited for lack of labor and for the constant 

 insecurity caused by these cruel savages. There is abundance of 

 excellent fruit ; they pick cotton here, the climate being hot. And 

 since one enters the Diocese of Santa Fe de la Sierra through the 

 jurisdiction of this Archdiocese via the Ayquile Valley, 19 leagues 

 from the Charcas and 6 from Misque, it was at this spot .... 



Chapter XVIII 



Of the Diocese of Santa Fe de la Sierra, Known as La Barranca, 

 and Its District. 



1680. The town of Misque and Rio de Pisuerga, also known as 

 Las Salinas, is built in the fine valley from which it takes its name, 

 20 leagues from the city of La Plata. It was founded by Don Fran- 

 cisco de Alfaro on September 19, 1603, in the days of the Viceroy 

 Don Luis de Velasco, Marques de Salinas, in deference to whom it 

 was given this title of Villa de Salinas ; it has for an outer ward 

 the village of San Sebastian de Misque. The parish church is named 

 after Santa Ana ; there are Dominican, Franciscan, and Augustinian 

 convents, and a hospital of San Juan de Dios called Santa Barbara. 

 The parish church has two curates, each receiving 700 assay pesos 



42 



