4.00 The^aturallanctMoratt 



ficulty to kill his owne fbmie, th ough he had ho oth'ifj. 

 hoping by that meanes to efcap e<deatb , laying that in 

 his place he offered his fohnc in facrifice. And this cru- 

 cltie hath beene pradifedin fome places, evenfince 

 the Chriftians came into that countrey. In trueth it is 

 ftrange , that this cuftome of confeffing their fecret 

 finncs, hath continued folong<amongeft them, and to 

 doe fo ft rid penances, as, tofaft,togiveapparell,golcl 

 arid filver,to remaine in the raountaines,and to receive 

 man/ftripes vpon the (boulders . Our men fey,that in 

 the province of chiquito , even at this day they meete 

 with this plague of Confeflbrs or Tchttrity whereas ma^ 

 ny ficke perfons repaire vnto them :but now, by the 

 grace of God,this people bcginnes to fee cleerely the 

 effed: and great benefite of our confeffion , wherevnto 

 they come with great devotion . And partely this for 

 mer cuftome hath beene fuffered by the providence of 

 the Lord, that confeflion might not feeme tedious vn 

 to them. 



By this meanes the Lord is wholy glorified, and the 

 Divell (who is a deceiver) deceived . And for that it 

 concerneth this matter, I will reporte the manner of a 

 ftrange confeflion the Divell hath invented at lappon&s 

 appeares by a letter that came from thence, which faith 

 thus : There are in Ocaca very great and high and ftiep 

 rockes,whichhaveprickesorpoynts on them, above 

 two hundred fadome high . Amongeft theferockes 

 there is one of thefe pikes or poyntes fb terribly high, 

 that when ihzXawabufis (which be pilgrimes) doe but 

 looke vp vnto it, they tremble,and their haireftares,fb 

 fearefull and horrible is the place. Vpon the toppeof 

 this poy nt there is a great rod of yron of three fadome 

 long, placed there by a ftrange devife, at the end of this 



rod 



