Of the province of Paucura, and of the manners and customs of the natives.

BEYOND the great province of Arma there is another, called Paucura, which contained five or six thousand Indians when we first entered it with the Captain Jorge Robledo. The language of the Indians in this province differs from that of Arma. The customs of the people are the same, except that these are a better disposed race, and that the women wear a small mantle to cover a certain part of their bodies, and the men do the same. This province is very fertile for the growth of maize and other products. They are not so rich in gold as those in their rear, nor are their houses so large, nor is the country so rough. A river flows through the province, but it has few tributary streams. Close to the house of the principal chief, whose name was Pimana, there was a wooden idol, the size of a tall man. Its face was turned towards the rising sun, and its arms were spread out. Every Tuesday the Indians sacrificed to the devil in this province of Paucura, and the same was done in that of Arma, according to what the Indians told us; but I was unable to learn whether the victims were their own countrymen, or prisoners taken in war. Among the houses of the chiefs they have stout canes planted in a circle so as to form a cage, from which those who are put in cannot possibly escape. The captives taken in war are put into this cage and very well fed, and when they are fat, they are taken out on days of festivity, killed with great cruelty, and eaten. I saw several of these cages, or prisons, in the province of Arma. It is worthy of note, that when they wish to kill any of these unfortunates, with the intention of eating them, they make them kneel down and bow their heads, and then give them a blow on the back of the neck with such effect that they never speak again. I have seen what I describe, and the victim never speaks, even to ask for mercy; nay, some even laugh when they are killed, which is a very marvellous thing, but it proceeds more from bestiality than from courage. The heads of those who are eaten are stuck on the points of the canes. Passing this province, we reached a lofty plain, which is well peopled and covered with large houses. This district is called Pozo, and the people speak the same language, and have the same customs as those of Arma.