Catalnillas and such as are a size bigger and which speak best they name Loro and the biggest of all which are dull and never speak they call Guacamayas and are good for nothing but to look upon for the beauty of their Feathers Such as these they carry into Spain in Cages for the delight they have in hearing them talk but others which are not so beautifull nor diverting they think not worth the care and charge of transportting so far In the Year 1555 and 56 there was a Parrot at Potosi which was one of those called Loro which was so ready in its Tongue that it would call the Indians as they passed along the Streets by the names of their several Countries such as Colla Yunca Huayru Qucchua c. as if it had been acquainted with the several Sashes they wore on their Heads to distinguish their Countries Upon a certain day there was a beautifull Indian Woman passing the Streets very fine and accompanied with three or four Servant-Maids as if she had been some great Lady or Palla of the Bloud-Royal So soon as the Parrot saw her he fell into a great laughter crying out Huayru Huayru Huayru which is a Nation the most base and contemptible of all the Indians With which the Indian Woman was greatly ashamed being laughed at by the people who in great Numbers were always about the Parrot hearing him talk and when she came near he called her Cupay which is Devil the Indians which were by approved the Saying of the Parrot for they knew that she was an ordinary Woman disguised in the Habit of a Palla or great Lady Some few years past in Sevil there was another Parrot of this kind which did most horribly abuse a certain Physician though unworthy of that name being a mere Quack as he passed the Streets which he did so scurrilously and so much to the purpose that the Doctor took it ill and was really offended Whereupon the Justice commanded the Master not to set the Parrot any more in the Street upon penalty of forfeiting it to the next person offended at his prate The general word which the Indians have for Parrots is Uritu and when they hear a Man talk much and obstreperously with much noise they call him Uritu for the noise and chat which the Parrots make when they fly in great flocks is like the prate of a vain-talking fellow who as the Divine Ariosto says in his twenty fifth Canto Knows little and talks much These Parrots at the season of the year when the Corn is ripe fly out from the Antis to seek their food and being in great flocks they spoil the Mayz or Corn wheresoever they alight they are very strong upon the Wing and fly high but the Guacamacas being a dull and heavy sort of Bird go not out from the Antis And all these different sorts of Parrots keep to their own kind to make the Proverb true that Birds of a Feather flock together CHAP. XXII Of the four famous Rivers and of the Fish which is taken in those which belong to Peru. I Had almost forgot to give a Relation of the Fish which the Indians of Peru have in their fresh-water Rivers of Peru the which Rivers are many and very great of which for brevity sake we shall onely mention four The first is that great River which is now called the Madalena falling into the Sea between Cartagena and Santa Maria the mouth of which according to the Sea-charts is eight Leagues wide having its head or source from the high Mountains of Peru The fierce swiftness of the current with which it falls into the Sea is such that for ten or twelve Leagues the forcible streams are sensibly perceived to reach into the Seas the fury thereof contending with the Waves of the Ocean The River Orellana called so by us being distinct from the Madalena is according to the Sea-charts about fifty four Leagues wide at the mouth of it though some Authours onely reckon it for thirty others forty others seventy making their account with great variety howsoever for my part I shall rather adhere to the opinion of Seamen who are knowing and learned in Maritime affairs and those whose business it is to sail over and measure the Seas and have made Sea-charts and Draughts with great Art the diversity of the opinions in the measures is this because some measuring just at the mouth of the River from side to side make it fifty Leagues but such as draw their lines from the extreme points of Land which extend into the Sea may measure seventy Leagues as is well known to the Pilots The source or head of those Fountains which make this River arises in the division of Cuntisuyu being to the South-West of Cozco and distant about eleven Leagues Westward from thence This River at the very head of it is very deep and not fordable and is very swift and rapid the streams thereof being contracted between very high Mountains which from the bottom to the top where the Snow is lodged upon them measure thirteen fourteen and fifteen Leagues almost perpendicular This River is the greatest of any in all Peru wherefore the Indians call it Apurimac because Apu signifies Chief or Principal both in War and Peace they call it also Capac Mayu Capac signifying plentifull rich abundant and Mayu a River For as Capac was an Epither or Title given to their Kings so they attributed that Title or Dignity to the Chief and Prince of all their Rivers This River keeps its name whilst it passes through the Countrey of Peru but whether it loses its name afterwards or not or that the Nations who live in the Mountains give it any other name I am not able to say In the year 1555 by reason of the great Rains which fell that Winter a vast part of the Mountain tumbled into the River with such mighty and prodigious Rocks as gave a stop to the current of the water for three whole days and so remained till the water overflowing the ruinous Mountain which fell in came at last to take its naturale course at which detention or stoppage of the water the poor Inhabitants which lived below much admiring and not knowing the reason thereof concluded that the end of the World was come and this stoppage below caused the water to rise at fourteen Leagues distance above being sensibly elevated as far as the Bridge which is in the great and royal High-way leading from Cozco to Ciudad Real This River Apurimac runs North and South at least five hundred Leagues from the head and source of it to the Equinoctial thence taking a turn to the Eastward it runs under the Equinoctial six hundred and fifty Leagues measured on a strait line to the place where it falls into the Sea but being measured by the turnings and windings of it 't will make fifteen hundred Leagues as Francis de Orella reports who sailed down that River in a Voyage he made
proved to the utmost extremity whether they were able to suffer Hunger and Thirst in the Wars in case any accident should necessitate them thereunto but then another Fast less rigorous than this the Fathers Brothers and near Relations to the Novitiates imposed on themselves which they solemnly observed supplicating their Father the Sun that he would vouchsafe to bestow on his Children who were now Probationers force and strength to undergo their task and acquit themselves with honour for such as were not able to sustain such hardships as these they rejected as not worthy to be admitted into the number of Novitiates The Fast being performed and that they were refreshed and strengthened again with their usual nourishment then trial was made of their natural nimbleness and activity of Body in running from the Mountain called Huanacauri which was esteemed sacred by them to the Castle of the City being about a League and a half at the end of which race a signal was set up where he that first arrived was elected Captain over all the rest Nor did all the others lose their Honour hereby for the second third unto the tenth acquired reputation but those who fainted in the course and were not able to hold out were noted for sluggards and Cowards and pitifull persons and therefore their Parents and Relations would intercept them in the way as they ran encouraging them to strain and force themselves all they were able telling them that they had better dye and break their hearts in the Race than come off with Infamy and Dishonour Another day these Novitiates were to be divided into two equal parts one half was to garrison and maintain the Fortress and the other half was to assault and storm it and having thus fought and contended a whole day then the day following they changed their stations and those who had before defended the Fortress were now to assault it so that trials were made in every respect of their Strength and Agility of Body and of their Art and Conduct in War. In these Skirmishes though they fought with blunted Arms yet so much was the heat with which both sides contended for their Reputation that many were wounded and oftentimes some killed in earnest CHAP. XXV That these Novitiates were to know how to make their own Arms and Shoes HAving performed these Exercises they were in the next place to wrestle one with the other being matched according to their age and proportion of Body then they were to leap and throw the Stone the Launce and Dart and other Weapons which were thrown by hand then they shot at Butts with Bow and Arrows to try their dexterity in Archery then they tried who could throw farthest against the Walls of the Fortress for proof of the strength and exercise of their Armes in like manner they threw at marks with their Slings and managed all sorts of Arms which they used in War then they tried their vigilance and watchfulness how well they were able to endure the want of Sleep setting them on the Centinel for ten or twelve nights together and in case any one was found sleeping on the Guard he was severely reproached as unworthy to take any Degree of military Order They tried also how hardy they were in their Flesh and how able to endure and suffer Wounds which they made with the sharp points of Rods in their Arms and Legs and other parts which according to the Habit and Fashion of Peru were commonly naked they observed when those Wounds were made with what courage they received them whether they changed their countenance or shrunk up their Legs or Arms for unless they seemed insensible of the smart they were rejected as nice and effeminate and their Flesh not hardy nor enduring the Blows and wounds of an Enemy Sometimes they placed them in a narrow Trench where a Fencing-master with a club wielded with both hands or a Quarter-staff which the Indians call Macana came to them or with a half Pike which they call Chuqui which they brandished and flourished before their Eyes and Faces making offers at their Legs and Heads at which if they unluckily seemed to wink or shrink away as if they feared the blow they were rejected and not suffered to pass the Muster saying that such as were fearfull of receiving blows which were practised in Exercise onely without design of hurt would be much more timorous when they appeared before the face of an Enemy from whom they could expect nothing but Death or Wounds without favour or mercy so that none were approved but such as were unshaken and were Bullies as immovable as the Rock it self Moreover and besides all this they were to have learned the Trade of making with their own hands all sorts of offensive Arms which were used in the War at least such as were most common and which were made without the help of a forge or art of a Smith such as Bows and Arrows and Launces which were sharpened and pointed without Iron and Slings which were made of Hemp or Flax of all which Arms they were to make use as occasion required As to defensive Arms they made use of none unless they were shields or Targets which they called Hualcanca These Targets they were obliged to make with their own hands at least to know how to make them as also their Shoes which they call Usuta which is a Sole of Leather tied about the Foot with packthread such as some wear in Spain and are like the Sandals of the Franciscan Friars The strings which they used for these Shoes were made of Wool twisted with a Spindle which they held in one Hand and the Thread in the other the string was made as thick as the middle finger and broad that it might not hurt or gaul the Foot half a yard whereof for each Foot was sufficient which may serve to confute the Words of a Spanish Historian who writing of the Indians says that they wove they knew not how nor for whom but we may pardon this false Relation so much to the Disreputation of the Indians which also is not altogether without some reflexion on the Spaniards themselves for such Men as these being Strangers and not versed in the Customs of that Countrey take up at hazard any Report which Men out of Ignorance or Interest deliver to them Onely this Opinion I would have the World to entertain of these Indians that of all the Gentiles in the World there never was any Nation more manly and which valued themselves more on the account of Hardiness and Bravery in detestation of all sorts of effeminacy than did the Incas for they being generally puffed up and exalted with the lofty thoughts of Alliance to the Sun were Heroick to an high Degree and aspiring to greater matters than those which fall within the sphere and compass of their management This manner of spinning Wool they called Milluy which signifies as much as to spin Wool for making strings to
so straitened them that they could receive no sustenance unless it were some small quantities of the Seeds of Herbs and Leaves of Turnips which some few were fain to fight for and gain with the point of the Launce In one of these Sieges of this City they broke the Images of Christ and our Lady and other Saints to the great dishonour of God which none but his infinite Mercy and Patience could have suffered In the last Siege which the Indians laid to this place they surprised the Spaniards and killed the Centinels and without any opposition entred and possessed themselves of the Town exercising such cruelty as was agreeable to the barbarity of their Natures for they butchered the Children and chained the Women and Nuns intending to carry them away into Slavery but whilst they were thus busily employed in packing up and disposing their Booty and plundering every where without order the Spaniards took courage and with that opportunity fell upon them and God assisting their endeavours they rescued their Wives and Nuns from their violent hands and with the loss of some few forced them to fly and quit both their Prey and their City The last Victory which the Indians obtained was when they took Villarrica with great effusion of Spanish bloud they set fire to the four Quarters of the Town and killed all the Friars of St. Dominick St. Francis and the Merceds with all the Clergy that were there carrying all the Women away Captives many of which were Ladies of Quality and Condition And this was the Fate of that City which was once of Fame and great Renown and illustrious amongst the neighbouring Cities of that new World. Thus far proceeds the Relation of Chili in the Year 1604. To all which nothing can be farther said than that these were Judgments of God which his secret Providence permits for the chastisement of Mankind And herewith let us return to the good Inca Yupanqui to conclude the remaining Actions of his Reign CHAP. XXVI Of the quiet Life of the Inca Yupanqui and of the Actions wherein he employed himself untill the time of his Death THE King Yupanqui having established and confirmed the Conquests which his Captains had made under the security of good Laws and settled Religion in all parts having also made provision for his own Royal Revenue and separated a maintainance for the Priesthood of the Sun he determined to put an end to his farther Conquests which are now far extended reaching no less than a thousand Leagues in length so that he resolved to spend the remainder of his Days in erecting Monuments and Trophies of his greatness which might ever conserve his Memory in great Renown To which end he built new Fortresses and many Temples dedicated to the Sun with Houses for the Select Virgins Royal Palaces and made many Aqueducts Walks and Gardens He also endowed the Temple of the Sun in Cozco with greater Riches of which though it stood in no need yet he thought it a duty to contribute some thing towards the glory of him whom he honoured and esteemed for his Father and more especially he busied himself in building and completing the Fortress at Cozco for which his Father had made provision of all materials and gathered great quantities of Stones and Rocks of which we shall hereafter have occasion to discourse more at large He also personally visited all the parts of his Empire that so he might with his own Eyes see the State of things hear the Complaints and Aggrievances of his people and provide a Remedy and Relief for his Subjects to all which he attended with so much care and compassion that he worthily deserved to be surnamed The Pious In these Employments this Prince with great Peace and Tranquillity spent his time for several Years being greatly beloved and obeyed by his Subjects at the end of which falling sick and finding within himself his end to be near he called the Prince who was his Heir and his other Sons together recommending to them by way of Testament the strict observance of their Laws and religious Rites of their Idolatrous Worship and above all encharged them to perform and administer Justice to their Subjects in the most equal balance and therewith he gave them his Blessing of Peace for that now his time was come to depart this Life and rest with his Father the Sun who called and summoned him to his Mansions of Felicity Thus dyed Yupanqui full of Glory and Triumph having enlarged his Empire above five hundred Leagues in length to the Southward being as far as from Atacama to the River Maulli and to the Northward one hundred and forty Leagues along the Coast from Chincha to Chimu He was lamented with great grief and having ranked him in the tenth Order of their Gods who were Children of the Sun because he was the tenth King they celebrated his Obsequies with great solemnity which according to their Custome continued for the space of a whole Year offering unto him many Sacrifices He left Tupac Inca Yupanqui his Heir and eldest Son which he begot of his Wife and Sister called Coya Chimpu Occlo to succeed him in all his Dominions The proper Name of this Queen was Chimpu but the word Occlo was a sacred Title amongst them he left many legitimate Sons and Daughters of the true Bloud besides many other natural Children to the number of about two hundred and fifty which was no great matter amongst them considering the many Women which those Kings maintained in every Province of their Dominions And because this Inca laid the Foundation of this great Work it is requisite that we should treat of it immediately after the Life of its first Founder because it is the most excellent Trophy of the Incan Magnificence and that which may serve for a matter of Ostentation and Glory not onely to the Authour himself and the preceding Kings but sufficient to derive Honour to all their Posterity in future Ages CHAP. XXVII Of the Fortress of Cozco and the greatness of the Stones with which it was built THE Incas who were Kings of Peru erected many wonderfull and stately Edifices their Castles Temples and Royal Palaces their Gardens Store-houses and other Fabricks were Buildings of great Magnificence as is apparent by the ruines of them though very obscure conjectures are to be gathered from such remains The work of greatest ostentation and which evidences most the Power and Majesty of the Incas was the Fortress of Cozco whose greatness is incredible to any who hath not seen it and such as have viewed it with great attention cannot but admire it and believe that such a work was erected by Enchantment or the help of Spirits being that which surpasses the Art and power of Man. For the Stones are so many and so great which were laid in the three first rounds being rather Rocks than Stones as passes all understanding how and in what manner they were hewen from the Quarry or
be expressed for who can fansie or imagine the Labours they had sustained in the Journey of four hundred Leagus outwards and in that of three hundred Leagues back and yet after all there was no prospect of an end though they had killed their Horses and eaten them one after another till they had made an end of all At first they eat their Grey-hounds Spannels and Mastiff-Dogs which as we have mentioned in our History of Florida were of great use and service to them in the Conquest of the Indies and of these they made their Delicacies so long as they lasted At length as Gomara saith Chapter 144. the Spaniards were ready to eat those which dyed according to the Custome of those barbarous Indians who inhabit those Mountains c. So soon as the Horse-flesh sailed which being divided amongst so great numbers was inconsiderable many Indians as well as Spaniards were starved with Hunger for the force of Herbs was not alone able to sustain Nature so that they began then to faint and droop so being forced to leave the Indians and Spaniards by three and four in a company abandoning them to the Woods and to the Mountains there to perish and dye without comfort in the same manner as we have related in the Journal of Garcilasso de la Vega where they were exposed to the like Misery not being able to travel and keep company with their Fellows But the want of Salt was none of their least needs for that in their Travels of four hundred Leagues as Carare saith in the 5th of his 4th Book they found not one grane thereof for the Countries being uninhabited they neither found any nor people to inform them what they used in the place thereof for want of which they became weak in their joints faint and scorbutick stinking and almost rotten alive in the same manner as we have related in the History of Florida where is demonstrated how much Salt is necessary for conservation of humane Life By reason of the continual Rains and moisture of the Earth their woollen Cloths and linen being always wet became rotten and dropped from their Bodies so that from the highest to the lowest every Man was naked and had no other covering than some few Leaves with which they hid their privy parts both before and behind And though that warm Climate did not require much clothing yet it had been a good Defence against the Thorns and Bushes of those rough Mountains over which they could make no other way than by Bills and Hatchets and yet the Briers and Brambles tore their Skins that they seemed all over raw and half flead So great and so unsupportable were the Miseries which Gonzalo Piçarro and his Companions endured for want of Food that the four thousand Indians which attended them in this Discovery perished with Famine and amongst them a certain Indian greatly beloved by Gonzalo Piçarro who took the Lances from the two Cavaliers as we have before related for which piece of bravery he was lamented by him with as much sense of Grief as if he had been his Brother as he often declared Likewise of the three hundred and forty Spaniards which entred on this Discovery two hundred and ten dyed besides the fifty which were carried away by Orellana Those eighty which remained alive after having passed three hundred Leagues of Mountain entred at length into a more open Countrey and a more dry Climate where they found Birds Deer and other wild Beasts which they killed with their Cross-bows and Guns by the help of a small quantity of their Powder which they had reserved Of the Skins of these Beasts they made themselves short Breeches onely sufficient to cover their Nakedness for they would not reach farther their Swords they carried without Scabbards all covered with rust and they walked barefoot and their Visages were become so black dry and withered that they scarce knew one the other in which condition they came at length to the Frontiers of Quitu where they kissed they Ground and returned Thanks to Almighty God who had delivered them out of so many and so imminent Dangers And being come now to a place of Food and sustenance they were so greedy thereof that they were forced to lay a restraint upon their Appetites and stint themselves to a certain proportion lest they should surfeit with excess some of them who were of a more weak Constitution and accustomed to Fastings and Abstinence were not able to endure repletion their Stomachs rejecting the Food and Nutriment administred to them And now approaching near to the City of Quitu they gave notice to the Inhabitants of their condition but the place being almost dispeopled by reason of the Wars raised by Almagro and by the absence of its principal Citizens and by the few Merchants which were therein they were so poor that all the Cloathing they could make was not sufficient to supply the wants of Piçarro and his company All the stock which the City could make being onely six Suits of Apparel contributed by several persons one brought a Cloak another a Coat another a Wastcoat another a pair of Breeches another a Hat and Shirts and all of several Pieces and Colours which served to cloath Gonzalo Piçarro and his other five principal Officers for it was impossible to provide sufficient furniture for them all In the whole Town there were onely twelve Horses left for all the rest were sent to the Wars in Service of his Majesty on these they laded Provisions and food for them and would have sent all the delicacies in the World had that place afforded them for Gonzalo Piçarro was the most beloved Man in Peru and indeed his Nature was so affable and his Deportment so obliging that he rendred himself acceptable to Strangers wheresoever he came and how much more to Friends and Companions Twelve of the most substantial Citizens were appointed to carry the Presents and therewith travelled thirty Leagues from the City before they met with Gonzalo Piçarro It is not to be imagined how much joy and satisfaction was expressed at this meeting accompanied with such a floud of tears upon rehearsal of the dolefull Story that it is hard to determine which passion either of joy or sorrow was the most prevalent for Piçarro and his Companions were transported with an Excess of joy and comfort to see themselves delivered from those dangers and miseries out of which they once believed it impossible to escape The Citizens on the other side grieved and lamented to see in what a miserable and squalid condition Gonzalo and his Friends returned and to hear the dolefull story of those who perished with Famine and in what manner they had left many of their Companions alive in the Mountains and exposed to dye with hunger But at length considering that there was no remedy for what was past they comforted each other drying up their Tears which little availed CHAP. XV. Gonzalo Piçarro being entred into
whereby they were to make their application to his Majesty for a redress of these aggrievances which were designed against them in pursuance of which with the consent and advice of the Visitor they named two Friers of good esteem and two Burgomasters of the City Council whom they deputed in behalf of the whole Kingdom to carry their address into Germany where the Emperour at that time resided being employed in Wars against the Lutherans with them the Visitor sent his Letters of recommendation giving his Majesty to understand how much the suspension of the late Statutes concerned the Service of God and of his Majesty and the conservation of the common peace and quiet of that Countrey and on the contrary what inconveniences troubles and confusions might result from the execution of them In all which particulars the Visitor performed his word like a Gentleman For in his Letters to his Majesty having in the first place given a relation of his voyage and of what happened at his arrival in New Spain he touched upon divers things relating to the execution of the New Statutes remarking what in every Law might properly be restrained or enlarged within this Letter he inclosed a paper containing 25 Heads relating to such conditions as were proper and tending to the welfare of the Indians and in what manner they might be best conserved and the Natives increased howsoever the Articles were all for the most part in favour of the Spaniards who were Inhabitants of those Countries With these Dispatches the persons deputed to carry the Address embarked for Spain and with them several others who were willing to be absent to avoid the force of these new Laws howsoever some few days after they were published the Visitor craftily and underhand began to insinuate and privately to put some of the new Regulations into practice The most easie and safe way as he thought was to begin with the King's Officers who could not reasonably complain of such Rules as their Master imposed on them in pursuance whereof he acquitted the Indians of their services to them in like manner he released them from all manner of service to Convents Bishops and Hospitals and hereof gave immediate advice to his Majesty In the mean time the Friers and Burgesses who were deputed to carry this Message departed from New Spain and having had a fair wind gained a prosperous passage and arrived safe in Castile from whence they hastned with all diligence into Germany to represent their cause before his Imperial Majesty and in regard the Wars in Germany were very hot and the persecution of Monasteries and religious Persons which the Hereticks exercised in those parts were very grievous the Friers thought fit to change their habit and accouter themselves in the fashion of Souldiers In short their negotiations at the Court were successfull and speedily dispatched having obtained his Majesties Royal hand for the ease and redress of their aggrievances they by the first Fleet gave an account of the success of their affairs and how prevalent the recommendations and report which the Visitor had given them were towards the relief and redress of their aggrievances So soon as these Dispatches arrived at Mexico and that the Letters were read at the Common Council of the City they all immediately repaired to the House of the Visitor but in a far different manner and with a more cheerfull aspect than when they first came to offer their petition and considerations against the new Statutes for now without that sullenness of look which they formerly shewed they now with smiles and pleasant looks returned him many thanks for the Letter which he had so kindly wrote in their favour by virtue of which they had obtained the Royal Mandate which they delivered to him commanding the Visitor to suspend the execution of the new Laws untill farther Order and moreover it was therein added that his Majesty would speedily give directions for dividing the Countrey among the Conquerours and the Inhabitants thereof and accordingly in the very next Fleet his Majesty sent a Commission to Don Antonio de Mandoca to make a distribution of such Lands as lay waste and without any Possessour all which gave such general satisfaction that the Common Council of the City gave orders for a day of festivity and rejoycing to be solemnly celebrated which was performed with Bull-baiting and other Sports and Pastimes in such manner as the like was never practised before After which all fears and jealousies vanishing every man followed his pleasures and delights And farther to confirm them in the Assurance that the new Laws should not be put in execution an Instance was given them by the death of one of the Conquerours who leaving a Widow without Issue the Vice-king and the Visitor ordained that the Indians who were his Subjects and whom he held in villenage should still continue in the same condition subjected to the Widow of the deceased the which action took away the remainder of the jealousie they apprehended concerning the Practice of the new Statutes Thus Don Francisco Tello having performed all matters in New Spain in the manner as we have related and setled every thing according as he was commanded by his Majesty he returned again to Castile where he was preferred by his Majesty to be President in the Courts of Judicature in Granada and Valladolid and made President of the Royal Council of the Indies and in the month of December 1566. his Majesty conferred upon him the Bishoprick of Osma Thus much shall serve to have said concerning the new Laws and Constitutions in Mexico We shall now proceed to give a relation of the many sad misfortunes and calamities which were the consequences of them in Peru where all things being managed in a different manner to those of Mexico occasioned great Disorders in that Empire the riches whereof being great it was necessary to use the more severity and rigour to put the new Statutes in practice whence proceeded so many slaughters ruines robberies tyrannies and cruelties that we are not able to describe the tenth part of those Miseries which Spaniards and Indians of both sexes and all ages sustained in that great tract of Land where was nothing but Misery and Confusion for the space of 700 leagues together The End of the Third Book Royal Commentaries BOOK IV. CHAP. I. Of the Accidents which befell the Vice-king Blasco Nunnez Vela so soon as he landed on the Continent and on the Confines of Peru. IN the preceding History we have given a Relation of the happy and prosperous State of Affairs in the Kingdom of Mexico caused by the Moderation Wisedom and good Conduct of the Visitor Don Francisco Tello de Sandoval We are now on the contrary obliged to make a Relation of the Ruines Slaughters and other Calamities of the Empire of Peru caused by the Rigour Severity and Evil disposition of the Vice-king Blasco Nunnez Vela who so obstinately against the opinion and sense of
soever he should employ them And to keep this matter the more secret care was taken to intercept all correspondences and intelligence which might pass by the way to Cozco untill such time as he had made his full recruit of Men Horse Powder and other ammunition for War and yet notwithstanding all this care and caution it was impossible to hinder or obstruct the intelligence which by means of the Indian Messengers was dispatched to Cozco and a hundred Leagues farther to the Northward toward Los Reyes though Alonso de Toro who was an Officer belonging to Gonçalo Piçarro did all that he was able to intercept Advices and to that end had sent a hundred Men to possess the pass and obstruct all intelligence and the passage of the Vice-king towards Cozco And here it was that Alonso de Toro received the first news of the Insurrection of Diego Centeno and the death of Francisco de Almendras together with the number of Men and Horse and Ammunition and all other matters which untill that time had passed which the Indians in a particular manner related to him So soon as Alonso de Toro received these informations he immediately repaired to Cozco where having levied Men he persuaded the Citizens and Governours of the City to engage themselves in the Cause of Piçarro against Diego Centeno telling them that with the help and assistence of those Souldiers Horse and Arms which were then in the City he intended to go forth and fight him And moreover to justifie the righteousness of his Cause he told them that this Diego Centeno was a mere Impostor who had no right nor title nor authority on his side and that being moved onely by his own interest and private advantage with colour and pretence of his Majesty's service had inveigled many people to follow his Colours whenas in reality Gonçalo Piçarro was the onely true and lawfull Governour of those Kingdoms intending to keep them in quietness and peace and safety untill such time onely as that his Majesty should declare his sense and pleasure in these matters and therefore that the Insurrection made by Diego Centeno was not to be justified but rather opposed by all good men who wished well to the publick peace and security of the people And moreover◠to justifie the Cause of Piçarro he admonished them to call to mind the Merits of Gonçalo Piçarro and the good Services he had done for all the people and Souldiers of the Empire by rescuing them from the execution of those new Laws and Regulations which would have proved their ruine to perform which he had adventured and exposed his person to the greatest dangers for no other reason than for the publick benefit and welfare of the people For it was manifest to all the World that if the late new Statutes and Regulations had taken place no Inhabitant could have enjoyed any Estate and so have been disabled from quartering Souldiers and consequently they could never have subsisted so that both one and the other had obligations on them to favour the Cause and Interest of Piçarro for as to what concerned himself he had never opposed his Majesty's Laws and Commands but in way of a Supplicant went with his Petition to the Vice-king but before he could come to him finding him to be imprisoned and banished by processes from the Court of Judicature he conceived he might justly set up his own title to be Governour during that vacancy And in case he did at any time act against the Vice-king it was by order and warrant from the Royal Court of Justice an evidence whereof they might see before their eyes if they were pleased to cast them on Licenciado Cepeda then present with Piçarro and was the most ancient Judge of that Court. Nor ought there to be any question whether the Judges as the case then stood were able to confer this Power upon him or not and if the matter be doubtfull men ought to expect his Majesty's determination therein and in the mean time acquiesce in the Government of Piçarro who hath given sufficient proofs of his great abilities to support the burthen of so important a Charge which he may justly challenge upon the score and merit of his brothers and himself who have gained the Empire with great labours and hazards of their lives and indeed none seems more fit and proper for that emploiment than himself who is acquainted with the Merits of all the Adventurers with him in the Conquest and accordingly knows in what manner to reward and gratifie every man according to his deserts which is impossible for others to doe who are Strangers and newly come from Spain With this and such kind of reasoning delivered in his fierce and angry manner of expression he caused himself to be obeyed for none daring to oppose or contradict him they all inclined to join with him against Diego Centeno Thus did Alonso de Toro raise Forces and appoint Captains over them and to mount his Men he took all the Horses in the City which belonged to persons that were aged and infirm so that in a short time he had gathered almost three hundred Men indifferently well armed and with them marched about six Leagues from Cozco towards the Southward where he remained for the space of twenty days for want of Intelligence of the Enemy's motion at length being impatient and fearing that he lost his time he marched forwards and came within twelve leagues of the place where Diego Centeno was quartered who having divided his Forces into two parts made a retreat howsoever Messengers with Propositions and Articles of peace passed between both Parties with intention if possible to bring matters to an accommodation but it soon appeared how great the difference was and what little hopes of composition by the peaceable way to Treaty Wherefore Alonso de Toro proceeded with intent to give battel to the Enemy but Diego Centeno and his Officers thought it not prudence to adventure so considerable a stake and a matter of that high moment wherein his Majesty's service was concerned to be decided by such a doubtfull event for if they were worsted they should be irrecoverably lost wherefore making a retreat and marching away they laded whole droves of Sheep with provisions of the Countrey and taking with them the Curacas or Lords of the Countrey they left all parts behind them desolate and without provisions or inhabitants for the distance of above fourty leagues round Howsoever Alonso de Toro pursued after them as far as to the City of Plate which is distant at least a hundred and eight leagues from Cozco but finding the Countries entirely dispeopled without sustenance or food by reason that the Curacas had caused all their Subjects to attend them on the part of Centeno and not being able to sustain themselves longer they resolved to return back again to Cozco in which march Alonso de Toro was to lead the Van with fifty Horse and Alonso de Mendoça was
should declare the Message they brought unto his General Accordingly the first day passed in complement the General only bidding them welcome But the next day John Sierra being admitted to Audience he was severely reproved by the General for coming with the attendance of so many Christian Souldiers For which John Sierra excused himself saying That he brought them by the advice and order of the Governour of Cozco and his Aunt Donna Beatriz and then he declared to him the occasion for which he was sent and read to him the Letters from his Mother and the Governour with that also which the Vice-King had wrote to Donna Beatriz John Sierra having thus delivered his Message Betanços and the Frier were also called and admitted to the same place of whom they demanded the same questions to see what difference there was in the proposals which were made The Frier and Betanços produced the Writing of Pardon and declared the substance of the Embassy upon which they were employed and delivered the Present which the Vice-King sent to the Inca of several pieces of Velvet and Damask and two Cups of silver gilded together with other things of curiosity After which the General and Captains sent two Indians who had been present at all the discourse to give a relation to the Inca of the particulars which had passed which when the Inca had heard and thought well upon he gave answer That the Ambassadours should immediately return from whence they came with their Letters Act of Pardon and Presents for that he would not have to do with the Vice-King but remain free and independent of him as he had hitherto done But as John Sierra and the rest were departed orders were brought after them by two Indians that they should return immediately and appear before the Inca to give him and his Captains an account in person of the Embassy they had brought and being on their way and not above four Leagues from the Inca another Command was given that John Sierra should come alone and that the others should be dispeeded back with such convenient Provisions as were necessary for their journey The next day John Sierra was come within two Leagues of the Inca when he met a new Order to detain him two days longer before his admittance and in like manner Messengers were sent to cause Betanços and the Frier to return back to the Inca who at the end of two days sending for John Sierra he received him with such kindness and affection as was due to a near and principal Kinsman And John Sierra having expressed and explained the particulars of his Message in the best sense and words he was able the Inca seemed well satisfied and pleased with what he had delivered but in regard that being in his Minority and not master of himself nor having for want of years assumed the coloured Wreath it was necessary for him to refer all his Affairs and Treaties to the consideration of his Captains Which being done Frier Melchior de Los Reyes was also sent for and ordered to deliver the Embassy he had brought from the Vice-King which being accordingly signified the Offer was kindly understood and the presents accepted Howsoever it was ordered that the Frier and John Sierra should attend and expect an Answer after the Captains had consulted thereupon The debate being again re-assumed nothing was concluded but that more time was required to consult their Predictions and Oracles and to consider farther before they could come to a resolution And in the mean time not to detain John Sierra and the Frier any longer it was ordered that they should be dispatched away to Lima with two other Indian Captains who in the name of the Inca should attend the Vice-King and treat with him concerning the Pension and allowance which was to be given to the Inca in consideration that the Inheritance and Succession of those Kingdoms did by Right of Nature belong unto him Being in this manner dismist they travelled by the way of Andaguaylas to the City of Los Reyes where they arrived on St. Peters day in the month of June The Indian Captains having had Audience of the Vice-King and declared what they had to say in behalf of their Inca were kindly received by him and hospitably treated for the space of eight days during which time they were lodged in the City and had frequent conferences with the Vice-King touching the entertainment which was to be given the Inca for the maintenance of his Court and Equipage agreeable to his Dignity so as to be able to live peaceably amongst them paying Homage and Obedience to the King. The Vice-King having consulted this point with the Arch-Bishop and Judges it was agreed to give an allowance to the Inca of seventeen thousand pieces of Eight yearly in Money for maintenance of himself and Sons besides the Indians and Estate of Francisco Hernandez and to hold therewith the Valley of Yucay together with the Indians and Lands formerly belonging to Don Francisco Hernandez the Son of the Marquis With some Lands belonging to the Fortress of Cuzco which was assigned to him for his dwelling house and place wherein he was to keep his Indian Court. In confirmation and for security hereof an instrument was drawn up to settle this Allowance on the Inca provided that in the space of six Months after the date thereof which was the fifth of July the Inca should accept of those Conditions and leave his habitation in the Mountains and come and live amongst the Spaniards This Writing was delivered to John Sierra who was solely appointed to return therewith accompanied only with the two Indian Captains and by that time that he was come to the Indian Court the Inca had received the coloured Wreath and with great joy received the Letters and Writings from the Vice-King c. Thus far Diego Hernandez which I thought sit to extract verbatim from his own Writings that I might not seem to have enlarged on the Care and Cautions used by the Indians in their Treaty above the Sphere of their Capacities And now it will not be from our purpose to explain some passages which this Anthor hath touched upon in the preceeding discourse The first is concerning those Carives who he says did eat one the other in the time of War it is true that this was accustomary in the Empire of Mexico in the antient times of Heathenisme But in Peru it was never practised For as we have said in the first part the Incas made severe Laws against those who eat human Flesh And therefore we must understand this Author according to the custome of Mexico and not of Peru. The Revenue given to the Inca did not amount to 17000 pieces of Eight for as we have said before the Lands of Francisco Hernandez did not yield above ten thousand pieces of Eight per annum And as to what he says they gave him in the Valley of Yucay which was the Estate of the Son of
by his bloud to make a sacrifice of Atonement to the Governour whereby to obtain pardon for himself and his Complices and having consulted hereupon with some of his Friends and Confidents the means agreed to compass this design was to invite Almagro to a solemn Banquet at which being present and without suspition in his House he might set upon him and kill him Accordingly an invitation was made unto Almagro who to avoid the appearance of all suspition and Jealousie relating to what he feared he accepted the Offer The day being come and he more confirmed in the certainty of what he formerly suspected feigned himself sick and much indisposed and unfit to be present at a Banquet And here Carate proceeds on his story and says Garcia de Alvarado finding himself disappointed after he had disposed and prepared all matters in order to the execution of his Design determined to go with a great Train of Friends to importune Almagro to accept the Invitation and being on his way thither he met with Martin Carillo and told him where he was going to which he made answer that in his opinion he did not doe well being assured that he would be there killed another Souldier also confirmed the same all which was not sufficient to dissuade him to the contrary so in he went to the Chamber where he found Almagro lying on his Bed having secretly conveyed certain armed Men into an inner Room So soon as Alvarado and his Complices came in Come my Lord said he arise and give not way to a little Indisposition it will be good for you to walk and divertise your self and though you eat but little yet your presence will chear up the Company and the other Guests Almagro told him that he would go and arising called for his Cloak for he was laid on the Bed in his Wastecoat with his Sword and Dagger and being about to go forth the People in the room went out first and just as Alvarado who was immediately before Almagro was ready to go out John de Rada who kept the door clapt it to on a sudden and then closing with Garcia de Alvarado You are my Prisoner said he with which Almagro drawing his Sword ran him through the Body saying You are not onely a Prisoner but a dead Man with which John Balsa Alonso de Saavedra Diego Mendez Brother of Rodrigo Orgonnos and others which lay concealed in the inner Room rushed forth and gave him so many wounds as deprived him of his Life The news hereof being reported abroad began to cause great Tumults in the City but Almagro appeased all with his presence so that the mischief proceeded no farther onely the Complices of Alvarado thereupon fled to the Governour Thus far Carate the which is confirmed by Lopez de Gomara The name of the Souldier which Carate says advised Alvarado not to goe was Augustine Salado And whereas it is said that John de Rada was he who shut the Door is a mistake and slip of the pen for as is before mentioned he dyed at Saussa but he who clapt the door to was Peter de Onnate for which piece of Service so opportunely performed Almagro made him his Lieutenant General CHAP. XIV Don Diego de Almagro marches forth to meet the Governour and Gonzalo Piçarro after having passed most incredible Difficulties finds his way out of the Cinnamon Countrey SOme days after that matters were quieted which had been put into a fermentation and disturbance by the Death of Alvarado Almagro resolved to proceed with his Army against the Governour Vaca de Castro who as he had received intelligence was departed from the City of Los Reyes to meet and fight him On which occasion Almagro resolved to give him to understand that he did not fear his Force esteeming himself the more formidable of the two for that his Souldiers being seven hundred Spaniards in number were all brave and stout fellows amongst which two hundred were Harquebusiers two hundred and fifty Pikemen and of them many armed with Halberds the rest consisted of two hundred and fifty Horsemen all armed with Coats of Mail and Back and Breast of Iron many of which were made by themselves and as Gomara saith in Chapter 149. were better Men and better armed than any of those belonging to the Armies either of his Father or of Piçarro Moreover he had a great Train of Artillery to which he trusted very much besides a number of Indians c. These are the Words of Gomara to which he farther adds That John Balsa was his General and Peter d'Onate his Lieutenant-General With these Souldiers and with these Provisions and Equipage Almagro marched to meet and give Battel to the Governour Vaca de Castro and having proceeded fifty Leagues he entred into the Province of Villca where he received information that the King's Army was thirty Leagues distant from thence But let us for a while make a digression from both these Parties and return to Gonzalo Piçarro whom with his Companions we left engolfed in the most inextricable Difficulties and Necessities which humane Nature was capable to sustain for they were to contend with deep and rapid Rivers with Bogs and moorish Grounds which were unpassable and were to travel over Mountains of incredible height on which grew Trees of an immense magnitude as Gomara in the end of his eighth Chapter reports upon the authority of Vicente Yanez Pinçon who was one of the Discoverers and who having related what had befaln him in those parts concludes at length with the strange Prodigies of that Countrey of which he gives a Narrative in these following Words The Discoverers brought with them the bark of certain Trees which seemed to be Cinnamon and the Skin of a Beast which put its young ones into its Breast and they related for a strange Story that they had seen Trees which sixteen Men could not fathome or encompass with their Armes c. But besides the many Difficulties with which Gonzalo Piçarro and his Companions were to struggle the most irresistible of all was Hunger that grievous and cruel Enemy of Man and Beast which hath been so fatal to both in that uninhabited Countrey We have said before that Gonzalo Piçarro resolved to return unto Peru and therefore leaving the River he took his way Northward and passed through Lands and Mountains no less difficult than the former being forced to open a way and path with Bills and Hatchets and to feed upon Herbs and Roots and wild Fruit which were so scarce that when any plenty thereof happened they esteemed themselves fortunate in that Days journey when they came to Lakes and moorish Grounds they carried their sick and infirm people on their Shoulders in which work none took more pains than Gonzalo Piçarro and his Captains who by their Example gave courage and chearfulness to all the rest In this manner they had travelled three hundred Leagues through all the Difficulties we have related and more than can