Their wines are not made from grapes, as I have already told Your Holiness, when I began to cultivate this little field, but they are intoxicating.  Tumanama complained, weeping, that his neighbours had invented these falsehoods to destroy him, for they were jealous of him because he was more powerful than they.  He promised in return for his pardon a large quantity of gold, and clasping his hands upon his breast, he said that he always both loved and feared the Spaniards, because he had learned their machanes—­that is to say, their swords—­were sharper than his and cut deeper wherever they struck.  Looking Vasco straight in the eyes, he said:  “Who then, other than a fool, would venture to raise his hand against the sword of a man like you, who can split a man open from head to navel at one stroke, and does not hesitate to do it?  Let not yourself be persuaded, O bravest of living men, that such speech against you has ever proceeded from my mouth.”  These and many other words did he speak, feeling already the rope of death around his neck.  Vasco, affecting to be touched by these prayers and tears, answered with calmness that he pardoned him and gave him his liberty.  Thirty pounds (at eight ounces to the pound) of pure gold in the form of women’s necklaces were at once brought from the two houses, and three days later the caciques subject to Tumanama sent sixty pounds more of gold, which was the amount of the fine imposed for their temerity.  When asked whence he procured this gold, Tumanama replied that it came from very distant mines.  He gave it to be understood that it had been presented to his ancestors on the Comogra River which flows into the south sea; but the people of Pochorroso and his enemies said that he lied, and that his own territory produced plenty of gold.  Tumanama persisted, however, that he knew of no gold mines in his domain.  He added that it was true enough that here and there some small grains of gold had been found, but nobody had even troubled to pick them up, since to do so would require tedious labour.

During this discussion Vasco was joined on the eighth day of the calends of January and the last day of the year 1513, by the men he had left behind with Pochorroso.  The slaves whom the southern caciques had lent them, carried their gold-mining tools.

The day of the Nativity of Our Lord was given to rest, but the following day, the Feast of the Protomartyr St. Stephen, Vasco led some miners to a hill near Tumanama’s residence because he thought from the colour of the earth that it contained gold.  A hole a palm and a half in size was made, and from the earth sifted a few grains of gold, not larger than a lentil, were obtained.