12 TRAVELS THROUGH 



V oner a was frightened by his threats, and did 

 not venture to difobey. He brought with him 

 three of his vaflals. Nunez de Balboa employed 

 in vain all the cunning imaginable to bring him 

 to difcover the place where they got the gold, 

 which he had heard contained great quantities of 

 that metal : good ufage and punifhments were 

 equally infufficient to bring him to confefs what 

 perhaps he did not know. As to the three thou- 

 land marks of gold which had been found, Pon- 

 era faid, that thofe who had amaiTed them died 

 in the times of his fathers, and that he had not 

 thought it worth while to fend people to fearch 

 for more, having no need of it. This unhappy 

 Cacique was given up to the fury of the dogs, 

 that devoured him with his three companions. 



Some time after, a Spaniard fell into the hands 

 of the fubjefts of the unhappy Toner a ; they re^ 

 proached him with the excefTive thirft of his 

 countrymen after gold, and the injuftices it led 



them 



Antonio de Herrera, in his firfl Decas, relates, that this 

 fierce creature, v/hofe inftindl was fingular, guarded a nar-^ 

 row pafs in the ifle of 5"/. Domingo ; and that one day an 

 Indian v.oman, being defirous of pafling by him, addrefled 

 him in thefe words : Signer Dog, do not hurt me ; / carry this 

 letter to the Chrijiians : he adds, that the dcg imniediately 



Jhidied at her, pijfed at her^ (thofe are his very words) and 



J'uffered her to pafs without doing her any harm. 



