Dishonesty the Best Policy—Pedrarias Stigmatized—His Authority Curtailed—Quevedo in Spain—He Encounters Las Casas—The Battle of the Priests—Oviedo Enters the Arena—Business in Darien—The Interoceanic Road Again—Its Termini—Pedrarias and Espinosa at Panamá—The Licentiate Makes another Raid—The Friars of St Jerome have their Eye on Pedrarias—The Cabildo of Antigua Shakes its Finger at Him—Continued Attempts to Depopulate the North Coast—Albites Builds Nombre de Dios—Lucky Licentiate—Arrival and Death of Lope de Sosa—Oviedo Returns and Does Battle with the Dragon—And is Beaten from the Field 460 CHAPTER XIV. GIL GONZALEZ IN COSTA RICA AND NICARAGUA. 1519-1523. Andrés Niño and his Spice Islands—Fails to Obtain Authority to Discover—Applies to Gil Gonzalez Dávila—Agreement with the King—Royal Order for the Ships of Vasco Nuñez—Pedrarias Refuses to Deliver Them—Gil Gonzalez Transports Ships across the Mountains—Embarks from the Pearl Islands—Gil Gonzalez Proceeds by Land and Niño by Sea—Visit to Nicoya—And to Nicaragua—The Captain-general Converts many Souls—And Gathers much Gold—Fight with Diriangen—Nicaragua Apostatizes—The Spaniards Terminate the Discovery and Hasten to their Ships—Niño's Voyage to Fonseca Bay—Return to Panamá 478 CHAPTER XV. SPANISH DEPREDATIONS ROUND PANAMÁ BAY. 1521-1526. European Settlement on the West Coast of America—Progress of Panamá—Laws Respecting Spanish Settlements in America—Final Abandonment of Antigua—Administration of the South Sea Government—Piracy upon Principle—Pascual de Andagoya Explores Southward—Conquers Birú—Return to Panamá—Colonies of Veragua and Chiriquí—The Chieftain Urracá Takes up his Abode in the Mountains and Defies the Spaniards—Pizarro, Espinosa, Pedrarias, and Compañon in vain Attempt his Overthrow—Building of Natá—Compañon as Governor—Hurtado Colonizes Chiriquí—Conspiracy—Capture and Escape of Urracá—Several Years more of War 495 CHAPTER XVI. THE WARS OF THE SPANIARDS. 1523-1524.