Chapter XXVI: Section I (1)

_Of the discovery of Peru, with some account of the country and its inhabitants_.

The city of Panama is a port on the South Sea, in that province of the continent of America which is called Golden Castille. In the year 1524, three inhabitants of that city entered into an association for the purpose of discovering the western coast of the continent by the South Sea, in that direction which has been since named Peru. These were Don Francisco Pizarro of Truxillo, Don Diego de Almagro of Malagon, and Hernando de Luque, an ecclesiastic. No one knew the family or origin of Almagro, though some said that he had been found at a church door[1]. These men, being among the richest of the colonists of Panama, proposed to themselves to enrich and aggrandize themselves by means of discovering new countries, and to do important service to the emperor, Don Carlos V. by extending his dominions. Having received permission from Pedro Arias de Avila[2], who then governed that country, Francisco Pizarro fitted out a vessel with considerable difficulty, in which he embarked with 114 men. About fifty leagues from Panama, he discovered a small and poor district, named _Peru_, from which that name has been since improperly extended to all the country afterwards discovered along that coast to the south for more than 1200 leagues. Beyond that Peru, he discovered another district, to which the Spaniards gave the name of _El Pueblo quemado_, or the _Burnt People_. The Indians of that country made war upon him with so much obstinacy, and killed so many of his men, that he was constrained to retreat to _Chinchama_ or Chuchama, not far from Panama.

In the mean time, Almagro fitted out another vessel at Panama, in which he embarked with 70 men, and went along the coast in search of Pizarro as far as the river San Juan, a hundred leagues from Panama. Not finding him there, Almagro returned along the coast to the _Pueblo quemado_, where, from certain indications of Pizarro having been there, he landed with his men. The Indians, puffed up with the remembrance of the victory they had gained over Pizarro, attacked Almagro with great courage, and did him considerable injury; and one day they even penetrated the entrenchment he had thrown up for defence, through some negligence in the guards, and put the Spaniards to flight, who were forced to retreat with loss to their vessel and put to sea, on which occasion Almagro lost an eye. Following the shore on the way back towards Panama, Almagro found Pizarro at Chinchama[3]. Pizarro was much pleased by the junction of Almagro, as by means of his men, and some additional soldiers they procured in Chinchama, they had now a force of two hundred Spaniards. They accordingly recommenced the expedition, endeavouring to sail down the coast to the southwards in two vessels and three large canoes. In this navigation they suffered great fatigue from contrary winds and currents, and were much incommoded when they attempted to land in any of the numerous small rivers which fall into the South Sea, as they all swarmed at their mouths with large lizards, or alligators, called caymans by the natives. These animals, are ordinarily from twenty to twenty-five feet long, and kill either men or beasts when in the water. They come out of the water to lay their eggs, which they bury in great numbers in the sand, leaving them to be hatched by the heat of the sun. These caymans have a strong resemblance to the crocodiles of the river Nile. The Spaniards suffered much from hunger in this voyage, as they could find nothing fit to eat along this coast except the fruit of a tree called mangles, which grew in great abundance everywhere along the shore. These trees are tall and straight, and have a very hard wood; but as they grow on the shore, their roots being drenched in sea water, their fruit is salt and bitter; yet necessity obliged the Spaniards to subsist on them, along with such fish as they could find, particularly crabs; as on the whole of that coast no maize was grown by the natives. From the currents along this coast, which always set strongly to the north, they were obliged to make their way by dint of constant rowing; always harassed by the Indians, who assailed them with loud cries, calling them banished men, and _hairy faces_, who were formed from the spray of the sea, and wandered about without cultivating the earth, like outcasts and vagabonds.

Having lost several of his men through famine and by the incessant attacks of the Indians, it was agreed that Almagro should return to Panama for recruits and provisions. Having procured twenty-four, they advanced with these and the remains of their original force to a country named _Catamez_[4], considerably beyond the river of St Juan, a tolerably peopled country, in which they found plenty of provisions. The Indians of this part of the coast, who were still hostile, were observed to have certain ornaments of gold, resembling nails, inserted into holes made for that purpose in different parts of their faces. Almagro was sent back a second time to Panama, to endeavour to procure a larger force, and Pizarro retired in the mean time to the small island of _Gallo_ somewhat farther to the north, near the shore of the _Barbacoas_, and not far from Cape _Mangles_, where he and his people suffered extreme hardships from scarcity of provisions, amounting almost to absolute famine.

On the return of Almagro to Panama for reinforcements, he found the government in the hands of Pedro de los Rios, who opposed the design of Almagro to raise recruits, because those with Pizarro had secretly conveyed a petition to the governor, not to permit any more people to be sent upon an enterprize of so much danger, and requesting their own recal. The governor, therefore, sent an officer to the Isle of Gallo, with an order for such as were so inclined to return to Panama, which was eagerly embraced by the greatest part of the soldiers of Pizarro, twelve only remaining along with him. Not daring to remain with so small a force in an island so near the main land, Pizarro retired to an uninhabited island named Gorgona, about 70 miles farther north, and considerably more distant from the coast than Gallo, in which island, which had abundance of springs and rivulets, he and his small band of faithful associates, lived on crabs in expectation of relief and reinforcement from Panama. At last a vessel arrived with provisions, but no soldiers, in which Pizarro embarked with his twelve men, to whose courage and constancy the discovery of Peru was owing. Their names deserve to be handed down to posterity: Nicolas de Ribera, Pedro de Candia a native of the Greek island of that name, Juan de Torre, Alfonso Briseno, Christoval de Peraulte, Alfonso de Truxillo, Francisco de Cuellar, and Alfonso de Molina[5]. The pilot of the vessel in which they embarked was named Bartholomew Bruyz, a native of Moguer. Under the guidance of this man, but with infinite difficulty from contrary winds and adverse currents, Pizarro reached a district named _Mostripe_[6], about equally distant from the two places since built by the Christians, named Truxillo and San Miguel. With the very small number of men who accompanied him, Pizarro dared not to advance any farther along the coast, and contented himself with going a small way up the river _Puechos_ or de la Chira[7]; where he procured some of the sheep[8] of the country, and some of the natives on purpose to serve him as interpreters in the sequel. Returning from thence, Pizarro went northwards to the port of Tumbez on the south-side of the bay of Guayaquil, where he was informed that the king of Peru had a fine palace, and where the Indians were said to be very rich. This place was one of the most extraordinary in the country, until it was ruined by the inhabitants of the island of Puna, as will be related hereafter. At this place, three of his men deserted, who were afterwards put to death by the Indians.

After these discoveries, Pizarro returned to Panama, having spent three years in this voyage, counting from his first leaving Panama, in which time he was exposed to many dangers fatigues and privations, by the opposition and hostilities of the Indians, and through famine, and more than all distressed by the discontents and mutinies of his people, most of whom lost all hope of success, or of deriving any advantage from the expedition. Pizarro soothed their fears and encouraged their perseverance by every means in his power, providing for their necessities with much prudent care, and bearing up against every difficulty with astonishing firmness and perseverance: leaving to Almagro to provide men arms and horses, and necessaries of all kinds for the enterprize. These two officers, from being the richest of the settlers in Panama at the commencement of their enterprize, were now entirely ruined and overwhelmed in debt; yet did they not despair of ultimate success, and resolved to prosecute the discovery of which a very promising commencement had now been made[9].

In concert with his associates Almagro and Luque, Pizarro went to Spain, to lay an account before the king of the discovery which he had made, and to solicit the appointment of governor of that country, of which he proposed to prosecute the discovery, and to reduce it under the dominion of the crown of Spain. His majesty granted his demand, under those conditions which used to be stipulated with other officers who engaged in similar enterprizes. With this authority, he returned to Panama, accompanied by Ferdinand, Juan, and Gonzalo Pizarro, and Francisco Martin de Alcantara, his brothers. Ferdinand and Juan Pizarro were his brothers both by father and mother, and the only lawful sons of Gonzalo Pizarro, an inhabitant of Truxillo in Old Spain, a captain in the infantry regiment of Navarre: Don Francisco Pizarro himself and Gonzalo Pizarro were natural sons of the elder Gonzalo Pizarro by different mothers: Francisco de Alcantara was likewise the brother of Don Francisco Pizarro, by his mother only, but by a different father[10]. Besides these, Pizarro brought as many men from Spain to assist in his enterprize as he could procure, being mostly inhabitants of Truxillo and other places in Estremadura[11].

On his arrival at Panama in 1530, Pizarro and his associates used every effort to complete the preparations for the enterprize; but at first a dispute arose between him and Almagro. The latter complained that Pizarro had only attended to his own interests when at the court of Spain, having procured the appointments of governor and president of Peru for himself, without making any mention of Almagro, or at least without having procured any office for him, who had borne the far greater proportion of the expences hitherto incurred. Pizarro alleged that the king had refused to give any office to Almagro, though solicited by him for that purpose: But engaged his word to renounce the office of president in his behalf, and to supplicate the king to bestow that appointment upon him. Almagro was appeased by this concession; and they proceeded to make every preparation in concert that might be conducive to the success of the undertaking. But, before entering upon the narrative of their actions, it seems proper to give some account of the situation of Peru, of the most remarkable things which it contains, and of the manners and customs of the inhabitants.

The country of Peru, of which this history is intended to treat, commences at the equator, and extends south towards the antarctic pole[12]. The people who inhabit in the neighbourhood of the equator have swarthy complexions; their language is extremely guttural; and they are addicted to unnatural vices, for which reason they care little for their women and use them ill[13], The women wear their hair very short, and their whole clothing consists of a short petticoat, covering only from the waist to about the knees. By the women only is the grain cultivated, and by them it is bruised or ground to meal, and baked. This grain, called maize in the West-Indian Islands, is called _Zara_ in the language of Peru[14]. The men wear a kind of shirts or jackets without sleeves, which only reach to the navel, and do not cover the parts of shame. They wear their hair short, having a kind of tonsure on their crowns, almost like monks. They have no other dress or covering, yet pride themselves on certain ornaments of gold hanging from their ears and nostrils, and are particularly fond of pendants made of emeralds, which are chiefly found in those parts of the country bordering on the equator. The natives have always concealed the places where these precious stones are procured, but the Spaniards have been in use to find some emeralds in that part of the country, mixed among pebbles and gravel, on which account it is supposed that the natives procured them from thence. The men also are fond of wearing a kind of bracelets, or strings of beads, of gold and silver, mixed with small turquoise stones and white shells, or of various colours; and the women are not permitted to wear any of those ornaments.

The country is exceedingly hot and unwholesome, and the inhabitants are particularly subject to certain malignant warts or carbuncles of a dangerous nature on the face and other parts of the body, having very deep roots, which are more dangerous than the small-pox, and almost equally destructive as the carbuncles of the plague. The natives have many temples, of which the doors always front the east, and are closed only by cotton curtains. In each temple there are two idols or figures in relief resembling black goats, before which they continually burn certain sweet-smelling woods. From this wood a certain liquor exudes, when the bark is stripped off, which has a strong and disagreeable flavour, by means of which dead bodies are preserved free from corruption. In their temples, they have also representations of large serpents, to which they give adoration; besides which every nation, district, tribe or house, had its particular god or idol. In some temples, particularly in those of certain villages which were called _Pafao_, the walls and pillars were hung round with dried bodies of men women and children, _in the form of crosses_, which were all so thoroughly embalmed by means of the liquor already mentioned, that they were entirely devoid of bad smell. In these places also they had many human heads hung up; which by means of certain drugs with which they were anointed, were so much shrunk or dried up as to be no bigger than a mans fist[15].

This country is extremely dry, as it very seldom has any rain, and its rivulets are few and scanty; so that the people are reduced to the necessity of digging pit-wells, or of procuring water from certain pools or reservoirs. Their houses are built of large canes or reeds. It possesses gold, but of a very low quantity; and has very few fruits. The inhabitants use small canoes hollowed out of the trunks of trees, and a sort of rafts which are very flat. The whole coast abounds in fish, and whales are sometimes seen in these seas. On the doors of the temples in that district which is called _Caraque_, the figures of men are sometimes seen, which have dresses somewhat resembling those of our deacons.

Near the last mentioned province, at Cape St Helena in the province of Guayaquil, there are certain springs or mineral veins which give out a species of bitumen resembling pitch or tar, and which is applied to the same purposes. The Indians of that country pretend that in ancient times it was inhabited by giants, who were four times the height of ordinary men[16]. The Spaniards saw two representations of these giants at _Puerto viejo_, one of a man and the other of a woman, and the inhabitants related a traditionary tale of the descent of a young man from heaven, whose countenance and body shone like the sun, who fought against the giants and destroyed them with flames of fire. In the year 1543, Captain Juan de Holmos, lieutenant-governor of Puerto viejo, caused a certain valley to be carefully examined, in which these giants were were said to have been destroyed, and in which ribs and other bones of prodigious size were dug up, which fully confirmed the traditions of the Indians[17]. The natives of this country have no knowledge whatever of writing, nor had they even any use of that method of painting employed by the Mexicans for preserving the memory of ancient events, which were handed down from father to son merely by traditionary stories. In some places indeed they used an extraordinary means for preserving the remembrance of important events, by certain cords or strings of cotton called _Quippos_, on which they represented _numbers_ by knots of different kinds, and at regulated intervals, from _units_ up to _dozens_, and so forth; the cords being of the same colours with those things which they were intended to represent. In every province, there are persons who are entrusted with the care of these _quippos_, who are named _Quippo camayos_, who register public matters by means of these coloured strings and knots artificially disposed; and it is wonderful with what readiness these men understand and explain to others events that have happened several ages ago. There are public buildings throughout the country which are used as magazines of these quippos.

To the south of the equator, and near the coast, is the island of Puna[18], about twelve leagues in circumference, containing abundance of game, and having great quantities of fish on its shores. It has plenty of fresh water, and was formerly very populous, its inhabitants being almost continually engaged in war, especially with the people of Tumbez, which is twelve leagues distant to the south. These people wore shirts, above which they had a kind of woollen garments. They went to sea in a peculiar kind of flats or rafts, made of long planks of a light wood fixed to two other cross planks below them to hold them together. The upper planks are always an uneven number, usually five, but sometimes seven or nine; that in the middle, on which the conductor of the float sits and rows, being longer than the others, which are shorter and shorter toward the sides, and they are covered by a species of awning to keep those who sit upon them from the weather. Some of these floats are large enough to carry fifty men and three horses, and are navigated both by oars and sails, in the use of which the Indians are very expert. Sometimes, when the Spaniards have trusted themselves on these floats, the Indian rowers have contrived to loosen the planks, leaving the christians to perish, and saving themselves by swimming. The Indians of that island were armed with bows and slings, and with maces and axes of silver and copper. They had likewise spears or lances, having heads made of gold very much alloyed; and both men and women wore rings and other ornaments of gold, and their most ordinary utensils were made of gold and silver. The lord of this island was much feared and respected by his subjects, and so extremely jealous of his women, that those who had the care of them were not only eunuchs, but had their noses cut off. In a small island near Puna, there was found in a house the representation of a garden, having the figures of various trees and plants artificially made of gold and silver.

Opposite to the island of Puna on the main land, there dwelt a nation or tribe which had given so much offence to the king of Peru, that they were obliged as a punishment to extirpate all their upper teeth; in consequence of which, even now, the people of that district have no teeth in their upper jaws. From Tumbez for five hundred leagues to the south along the coast of the south sea, and for ten leagues in breadth, more or less according to the distance between the sea and the mountains, it never rains or thunders. But on the mountains which bound that maritime plain, there are both rain and thunder, and the climate has the vicissitudes of summer and winter nearly as in Spain. While it is winter in the mountain, it is summer all along the coast; and on the contrary, during the summer on the mountain the coast has what may be termed winter. The length of Peru, from the city of _St Juan de Parto_ to the province of Chili lately discovered, is above 1800[19] leagues of Castille. Along the whole of that length, a vast chain of exceedingly high and desert mountains extends from north to south, in some places fifteen or twenty leagues distant from the sea, and less in others. The whole country is thus divided into two portions, all the space between the mountains and the sea being denominated _the plain_, and all beyond is called the mountain.

The whole plain of Peru is sandy and extremely arid, as it never has any rain, and there are no springs or wells, nor any rivulets, except in four or five places near the sea, where the water is brackish. The only water used by the inhabitants is from torrents which come down from the mountain, and which are there formed by rain and the melting of snow, as there are even very few springs in the mountainous part of the country. In some places, these torrents or mountain-streams are twelve fifteen or twenty leagues distance from each other, but generally only seven or eight leagues; and travellers for the most part are under the necessity of regulating their days journies by these streams or rivers, that they may have water for themselves and cattle. Along these rivers, for the breadth of a league, more or less according to the nature of the soil, there are some groves and fruit-trees, and maize fields cultivated by the Indians, to which wheat has been added since the establishment of the Spaniards. For the purpose of irrigating or watering these cultivated fields, small canals are dug from the rivers, to conduct the water wherever it is necessary and where that can be done; and in the construction of these the natives are exceedingly ingenious and careful, having often to draw these canals seven or eight leagues by various circuits to avoid intermediate hollows, although perhaps the whole breadth of the vale may not exceed half a league. In all these smaller vales along the streams and torrents, from the mountain to the sea, the country is exceedingly fertile and agreeable. Several of these torrents are so large and deep, such as those of Santa, Baranca, and others, that without the assistance of the Indians, who break and diminish for a short time the force of the current, by means of piles and branches forming a temporary wear or dike, the Spaniards would be unable to pass. In these hazardous passages, it was necessary to get over with all possible expedition, to avoid the violence of the stream, which often rolled down very large stones. Travellers in the plain of Peru, when going north or south, almost always keep within sight of the sea, where the torrents are less violent, owing to the greater flatness of the plain as it recedes from the mountain. Yet in winter the passage of these torrents is extremely dangerous, as they cannot be then forded, and must be crossed in barks or floats like those formerly mentioned, or on a kind of rafts made of gourds inclosed in a net, on which the passenger reclines, while one Indian swims before pulling the raft after him with a rope, and another Indian swims behind and pushes the raft before him.

On the borders of these rivers there are various kinds of fruit-trees, cotton-trees, willows, and many kinds of canes, reeds, and sedges. The watered land is extremely fertile, and is kept under continual cultivation; wheat and maize being sown and reaped all the year through. The Indians in the plain seldom have any houses, or at best a kind of rude huts or cabins made of branches of trees, often dwelling under the shade of trees, without any habitation whatever. The women are habited in long dresses of cotton which descend to their feet; while the men wear breeches and vests which come down to their knees, and have a kind of cloak or mantle thrown over their shoulders. They are all dressed in a similar manner, having no distinctions except in their head-dresses, according to rank or the different districts of the country; some wearing a tuft of wool, others a single cord, and others several cords of different colours. All the Indians of the plain are distributed into three orders; the first named _Yungas_, the second _Tallanes_, and the third _Mochicas_. Every province has its own peculiar language or dialect, different from all the rest. But all the caciques or principal people and nobles of the country, besides the language peculiar to their respective countries or districts, were obliged to understand and speak the language of Cuzco. One of the Peruvian kings, named Huana Capac, the father of Atahualpa or Atabalipa, was much displeased that the caciques and principal people of his empire should be under the necessity of employing interpreters when they had occasion to speak to him; and gave orders that all the caciques and their relatives should send their children to reside at court, to be instructed in the language of Cuzco which was spoken by the Incas. This was the ostensible reason of the measure; but in reality he wished to have these children in his power, to serve as hostages for the loyalty of their parents. By this means, all the nobles of the land came to understand the peculiar language of Cuzco which was spoken at court; just as in Flanders all the nobles and persons of any rank speak French. Owing to this circumstance, as the Spaniards have learnt the language of the Incas, or of Cuzco, they are able to converse with all the principal natives of Peru, both those of the mountain and of the plain.

It may appear difficult to some of my readers to comprehend why no rain should fall in the plain of Peru, considering that the country is bounded along the whole of one side by the sea, where many vapours are constantly ascending, and on the other side by a vast range of mountain which is always enveloped in rain or snow. Those who have carefully considered this singular phenomenon, allege that it is occasioned by the continual prevalence of a strong south-west wind all along the coast and over the whole plain of Peru, which carries off all the vapours which rise from the sea and the land, without allowing them to rise sufficiently high in the air to gather and fall down again in rain. From the tops of the high mountains, these vapours are often seen far beneath on the plain in thick clouds, while all is quite clear and serene on the mountain. By the perpetual blowing of the same wind, the waters of the South-sea have a constant current along the coast to the northward. Others allege a different reason for this current; saying, that the water of the South-sea having only a narrow outlet at the straits of Magellan, which are only two leagues broad, and being there opposed by the Atlantic Ocean, they are forced to return to the northward along the coast of Chili and Peru. This constant wind and current render the navigation exceedingly difficult, from Panama to Peru for the greater part of the year; so that vessels are obliged always to tack to windward against wind and current.

The whole coast of Peru abounds in fish of various kinds, among which are great quantities of sea-calves or seals, of several species. Beyond the river of Tumbez there are no caymans or alligators, which is supposed to be owing to the too great coolness of the sea and rivers, as these animals delight in heat; but it is more probable that their absence from the rivers of Peru is occasioned by their great rapidity, as they usually frequent rivers that are very still. In the whole extent of the plain there are only five cities inhabited by the Christians[20]. The first of these, Puerto Viejo, about one degree south of the line, has very few inhabitants, as it stands in a poor and unwholesome country, in which the principal production of value is a few emeralds. Fifty leagues to the southward, and about fifteen leagues from the coast, is the city of San Miguel, named _Piuru_ by the Indians, in a pleasant and fruitful country, but which has no mines of gold or silver. Most people who have occasion to go there are liable to be afflicted with diseases of the eyes. Sixty leagues farther along the coast, is the city of Truxillo, two leagues from the sea, in the valley of Chimo, having a dangerous harbour of difficult approach. This city stands on the banks of a river in a fine plain, which is fertile in wheat and maize, and breeds great abundance of cattle, having plenty of excellent water. Truxillo is very regularly built, and is inhabited by about three hundred Spanish families. About eighty leagues from Truxillo to the south, and in the valley of _Rimac_, stands the city of _Los Reys_, or Lima, because it was founded at Epiphany, vulgarly called the day of the kings. This city is about two leagues from the harbour of _Callao_, an excellent and secure harbour, and is situated on a large river in a fine plain, abounding in grain, and in all kinds of fruit and cattle. All the streets are perfectly straight, and all of them lead towards the country, which may be seen from all parts of the city. This is a most agreeable residence, as the air is always temperate, being never either too hot or too cold at any season of the year. During the four months which constitute the summer in Spain, the air here is somewhat cooler than for the rest of the year; and every day from sun-rise to noon there falls a light dew, somewhat like the mists at Valladolid in Old Spain. Far from being injurious to health, this slight moisture is reckoned an infallible cure for headaches. This part of the country produces the same kinds of fruit as are found in Spain, particularly oranges, citrons, and lemons of all kinds, both sweet and sour, with figs and pomegranates. It might assuredly have produced grapes in great abundance, if the discords which have prevailed in this country had allowed the colonists to plant and cultivate the vine; as it already has several thriving vine plants which have grown from the pips of dried raisins. The neighbouring country produces all kinds of pot herbs and garden vegetables usually cultivated in Spain, in great perfection and abundance. Indeed every thing conspires to assist cultivation at this place, as every plantation has a canal from the river sufficiently large for a mill-stream; and on the main river, the Spaniards have several corn-mills. This city is universally reckoned the most salubrious and most agreeable residence in all Peru; and its harbour is so convenient for trade, that people come here from all parts of Peru to provide themselves with necessaries of all kinds, bringing with them the gold and silver which is so abundantly procured from the mines of the other provinces. For these reasons, and because it is nearly central to Peru, it has been chosen by his majesty for the residence of the royal court of audience, to which the inhabitants of all Peru have to carry their law-suits, by which means it is to be presumed that this place will in time become more considerable and very populous. Lima at present, 1550, contains five hundred houses; yet is larger than any city in Spain of fifteen hundred houses, as the square in the centre of the town is very large, and all the streets very wide, and because each house has a plot of eighty feet in front by twice that in depth. The houses likewise are all of one storey, as the country has no wood fit for joists or flooring-deals, every kind which it produces becoming worm-eaten in three years. The houses, however, are large and magnificent, and have many chambers and very convenient apartments. The walls are built on both sides of brick, leaving a hollow between of five feet, which is filled up with hard-rammed earth; in which manner the apartments are carried up to a convenient height, and the windows towards the street are raised considerably above the ground. The stairs leading up are towards the interior court, and in the open air, leading to galleries or corridors, which serve as passages to the several apartments. The roofs are formed of some rough timbers, not even hewn square, which are covered underneath by coloured matts like those of Almeria, or painted canvas, serving as ceilings, to conceal these clumsy joists: and the whole is covered over by way of roofing with branches of trees with their leaves, which keep the rooms cool and effectually exclude the rays of the sun. In this climate there is no call for any defence from rain, which never falls in the plain of Peru.

One hundred and thirty leagues still farther south, is the city of Villahermosa de Arequipa, containing about three hundred houses, in a very healthy situation, abounding in provisions. Though at twelve leagues distance from the sea, this place is very conveniently situated for trade, as vessels can easily import thither by the river Quilca all sorts of European commodities for the supply of the city of Cuzco and the province of Charcas, which are much frequented on account of the mines of Potosi and Porco; and from whence large quantities of silver are carried to Arequipa, to be transported by sea to Lima and Panama, which saves a vast expence and risk of land-carriage; now become more difficult since his majesty has forbidden those heavy burdens upon the Indians by which they were formerly oppressed. From this city we travel four hundred leagues by land along the coast of the South Sea to the province of Chili, which was discovered and in part colonized by the governor Pedro de Valdibia, or Baldivia. In the language of the Indians the word _Chili_ signifies cold; and it was so named by the Peruvians because of the terribly cold mountains which were necessary to be passed on the way thither from Peru, as will be particularly mentioned when we come to detail the perilous enterprize undertaken by Don Diego de Almagro when he marched to discover that distant country. Such is a rapid view of that portion of Peru which is called _the plain_; to which must be added that the sea along its entire coast is always smooth and tranquil, from which it has been called the _Pacific Ocean_, being never vexed with storms, or disturbed by high and low tides; so that vessels can everywhere ride in perfect security at single anchor.

Those Indians who inhabit the mountainous regions of Peru are entirely different from the inhabitants of the plain, whom they vastly exceed in strength, courage, and mental abilities. They live in a much less savage manner, having houses covered with earth, and being clothed in shirts and mantles made from the wool of their sheep[21]; but their only head-dress consists in a species of bands or fillets. The women wear a species of vestments like shifts without sleeves, and gird their waists with several turns of a woollen girdle, which give them a neat and handsome shape; covering their shoulders with a mantle or plaid of woollen cloth like a large napkin, which they fix round the neck with a large skewer or pin of silver or gold called _topos_ in their language, with large broad heads, the edges of which are sharpened so as to serve in some measure the purposes of a knife. These women give great assistance to their husbands in all the labours belonging to husbandry and household affairs, or rather these things fall entirely to their lot. Their complexions are much fairer, and their countenances, manners, and whole appearance, are greatly superior in all respects to the natives of the plain. Their countries likewise differ entirely; as instead of the sterile sands which are everywhere interspersed over the plain, the mountain is covered through its whole extent with verdure, and is everywhere furnished with rivulets and springs of fine water, which unite to form the torrents and rivers which descend so impetuously into the plain country. The fields are everywhere full of flowers and plants of infinite varieties, among which are many species like the plants which grow in Spain; such as cresses, lettuce, succory, sorrel, vervain, and others; and vast quantities of wild mulberries, and other fruit-bearing shrubs are found everywhere. There is one particular plant with yellow flowers, having leaves like those of celery, of most admirable virtues. If applied to the most putrid sore, it makes it quite clean and sweet in a short time; but if laid upon a sound place it soon eats to the very bone. There are many fruit-trees in this country of various kinds, carrying abundant crops of fruit as good as those of Spain without having the smallest care taken of them.

There are great numbers of sheep in the mountainous region, part of which are domesticated by the Indians, but vast numbers of them are wild; likewise abundance of deer and roes, many foxes and other smaller animals. The natives often have public hunts of these animals, which they call _chaco_, in which they take great delight. Four or five thousand natives, more or less according to the population of the district, assemble together, and enclose two or three leagues of country by forming a circle, in which at first they are at considerable distances from each other, and by gradually contracting their circle, beating the bushes, and singing certain songs appropriated to the occasion, they drive all the animals of every kind before them to an appointed place in the centre. The whole company at length join in a small circle, holding each other by the hands, and hallooing loudly, by which the beasts are terrified from endeavouring to break through, and are easily taken in nets or even by the hand. Even partridges, hawks, and other birds, are often so astonished by the loud cries of the hunters as to fall down in the circle and allow themselves to be taken. In these mountains there are lions or _pumas_, black bears, wild cats of several kinds, and many species of apes and monkeys. The principal birds, both of the plain and the mountain, are eagles, pigeons, turtle-doves, plovers, quails, parroquets, falcons, owls, geese, white and grey herons, and other water fowl; nightingales and other birds of sweet song, many kinds of which have very beautiful plumage. There is one kind of bird very remarkable for its astonishing smallness, not being larger than a grasshopper or large beetle, which however has several very long feathers in its tail. Along the coast there is a species of very large vulture, the wings of which, when extended, measure fifteen or sixteen palms from tip to tip. These birds often make prey of large seals, which they attack when out of the water: On these occasions, some of the birds attack the animal behind; others tear out his eyes; and the rest of the flock tear him on all sides with their beaks, till at length they kill him, and tear him to pieces. Upon the coast of the South Sea there are great numbers of birds named _alcatraz_, somewhat like our ordinary poultry in shape, but so large that each individual may contain three pecks of grain in its crop. These birds feed mostly on fish which they catch in the sea, yet are fond of carrion, which they go in search of thirty or forty leagues inland. The flesh of these birds stinks most abominably, insomuch that some persons who have been driven to the necessity of eating it have died, as if poisoned.

It has been already said, that rain, hail, and snow, fall on the mountainous region of Peru, where in many places it is intensely cold: But in many parts of that region there are deep valleys in which the air is so hot, that the inhabitants have to use various contrivances to defend themselves from the excessive heat. In these vallies there is an herb called _coca_, which is held in very high estimation by the natives: Its leaf resembles that of the _sumach_, and the Indians have learnt from experience that, by keeping a leaf of that plant in their mouth they can prevent themselves for a long time from feeling either hunger or thirst. In many parts of the mountain there is no wood, so that travellers in those parts are obliged to use a species of earth which is found there for the purpose of fuel, and which burns very much like turf or peats. In the mountains there are veins of earth of various colours, and mines both of gold and silver, in which the natives are exceedingly conversant, and are even able to melt and purify these metals with less labour and expence than the Christians. For this purpose they construct furnaces in the mountains, placing always the door of the furnace towards the south, as the wind blows always from that point. The ores are put into these furnaces alternately with dried sheeps dung, which serves as fuel, and by means of the wind the fire is raised to a sufficient power to melt and purify the metal. In melting the vast quantities of silver which has been dug from the mines of Potosi, the furnaces constructed with bellows were found quite inefficient, while these furnaces, named _guayras_ by the Indians, which signifies wind-furnaces, answered the purpose effectually.

The soil is everywhere extremely fertile, and gives abundant returns of all the kinds of grain which are there sown; insomuch that from one bushel of seed for the most part at hundred bushels are reaped, sometimes an hundred and fifty, and even as high as two hundred. The natives employ no ploughs, but labour the earth with a kind of hoes; and set their seed into the ground in holes made with a dibble, or pointed stick, just as beans are sown in Spain. All kinds of pot and garden herbs grow so luxuriantly that radishes have been seen at Truxillo as thick as a mans body, yet neither hard nor stringy. Lettuces, cabbages, and all other vegetables grow with similar luxuriance: But the seeds of these must all be brought from Spain; as when raised in the country the produce is by no means so large and fine. The principal food of the Indians is maize, either roasted or boiled, which serves them for bread, and venison of various kinds, which they salt up for use. They likewise use dried fish, and several kinds of roots, one of which named _yuca_ resembles skirret; likewise lupines and many other leguminous vegetables. Instead of wine, they make a fermented liquor from maize, which they bury in the earth along with water in tubs or large jars, where it ferments. In this process, besides the maize in its natural state, a certain quantity of maize which has been steeped in a particular manner is used as a ferment; and there are men and women who are versant in the manner of steeping maize, and are hired for this purpose. When this kind of drink is made by means of stagnant water, it is reckoned stronger and better than when running water is used. In the West Indian islands this drink is called _chica_, but the Peruvian name is _azua_. It is either white or red, according to the kind of maize used for its preparation, and inebriates even more readily than Spanish wine; yet the Indians prefer the latter when it can be procured. They make another kind of liquor from the fruit of certain trees, which they call _molles_; but it is by no means so well liked as _azua_ from maize.

The first city of the Christians in the mountain of Peru is _Quito_, which is about four degrees to the south of the equator[22]. This city is situated in an agreeable and fertile district; and particularly since 1544 and 1545, when rich mines of gold were discovered in its neighbourhood, it has become populous, and continued to increase fast in the number of its inhabitants; till in the destructive civil wars its people were almost entirely cut off by Gonzalo Pizarro and his adherents, as they favoured the party of the viceroy Blasco Nugnez Vela, who made this place his ordinary residence. The Spaniards had no other establishment in the mountain till the discovery of the province of _Bracamoras_[23], by the captains, Juan Porcel and Vergara, who established some small colonies in these parts, on purpose to continue the discovery and conquest of the interior country; but these establishments have been since entirely ruined, as Gonzalo Pizarro recalled these two captains and their men to assist him in his war. This discovery was made under the orders of the licentiate Vaca de Castro, who was then governor of Peru. The Captain Porcel was sent by him from S. Miguel de Piura, and Vergara into the province of _Chachapoyas_ farther to the south; but they unexpectedly met each other in the course of their exploration of the country, and quarrelled about the boundaries of their discoveries, in consequence of which they were recalled by Vaco de Castro, and were at Lima at the commencement of the civil war in the service of the viceroy; and when he was made prisoner they entered into the party of Gonzalo Pizarro. The place which they discovered, called Bracamoras, is a hundred and sixty leagues from Quito by way of the mountain; and eighty leagues farther south they discovered a province named Chacaapoyas, where there is a small Christian town named _Levanto_[24]. This province abounds in provisions, and has mines of some value. Its situation is peculiarly strong against an enemy, as it is surrounded on all sides by a deep valley, in which runs a considerable river; so that by breaking down the bridges, it may be made very difficult of access. The Maestre de Campo Alfonzo de Alvarado, who held the command of this province, established a colony of Christians at this place.

Sixty leagues farther to the south, in the district of _Guanuco_, Vaco de Castro established a colony which he ordered to be called _Leon_, as he came from the city of that name in Spain. The country of Guanuco is fertile and abounds in provisions; and valuable mines are believed to exist on that side which is occupied by a warlike and powerful inca in a province of the Andes, as shall be mentioned hereafter[25]. There is no other place in the mountains farther south which has been as yet settled by the Christians, till we come to the province of _Guamanga_, in which is a small town named San Juan de la Vittoria[26], which is sixty leagues from Leon. In San Juan there are very few Spaniards, but their number is expected to increase, if the neighbouring inca can be induced to submit to peace; as he at present occupies the best lands belonging to that city, in which there are many mines, and which produces the herb called _coca_ in great abundance, formerly mentioned as of great value. The town of Guamanga is about eighty leagues from the city of Cuzco; the road between being exceedingly difficult, as it goes over high and precipitous mountains, and through very dangerous passes.

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the kings of Peru resided in the city of Cuzco, whence they governed the whole of this great country of which I have endeavoured to give some account, and which will be more particularly treated of in the sequel of this history. This city served as the common centre for all the chiefs or caciques of this vast kingdom, to which they resorted from all quarters, to pay their tributes to the king, and to obtain justice in case of disputes among each other. At that time Cuzco was the only place in all Peru that had the least resemblance to a city. It had even a strong fortress, built of such enormous dressed stones, that it was very wonderful to conceive in what manner the Indians had been able to transport such vast masses of stone without the aid of any animals of draught. In fact some of these are so large that they would have required ten yokes of oxen to have dragged them along on a fit carriage. The houses which are now inhabited by the Spaniards are the same which were formerly occupied by the Indians; some of which houses have been merely repaired and others enlarged by their present possessors. This city was formerly divided into four quarters, corresponding to the four cardinal points; and by orders of the _Incas_, or sovereigns of Peru, all those natives who came to the capital were obliged to lodge in the particular quarter which was towards the direction of the province from whence they came, under severe penalties. The south quarter of the city was named _Colla-sugo_, from the province of _Collao_ which lay to the south. The northern quarter was named _Chinca-sugo_, from the large and renowned province of _Chinca_[27] in that direction. The eastern and western quarters were respectively named _Ande-sugo_ and _Conde-sugo_. The country about Cuzco is extremely fertile, and abounds in all kinds of provisions, and the climate is so healthy that the inhabitants are seldom if ever sick. Around the city there are many rich mines, whence all the gold which has been hitherto sent into Spain was procured. These indeed have been nearly abandoned since the discovery of the rich silver mines of Potosi; both because much greater profit may be made from these other mines of silver, and because the working of these are far less dangerous both to the Indians and Spaniards who are there employed.

From the city of Cuzco to that of La Plata in the province of Charcas, the distance is more than a hundred and fifty leagues, between which two places there is a large flat province named _Collao_, above fifty leagues long; the principal part of which, named _Chiquito_, belongs to his majesty. Seeing so large an extent of country unoccupied by the Spaniards, the licentiate De la Gasca sent some people there in 1545 to commence an establishment. The city of La Plata is situated in the coldest part of all the mountainous region of Peru, and has very few inhabitants, but these are extremely rich, and spend the greatest part of the year in the mines of _Porco_, and in those of _Potosi_ since their discovery. Towards the left hand or the east from La Plata, a new province was explored by Diego de Rojas and Philip Gutierez, by the order of Vaca de Castro, which was named _Rojas_[28] from one of these captains. It is said to be fertile and abounding in provisions, but they have not found so much riches there as was expected. Captain Domingo de Ytala and his companions came by that way into Peru in 1549, having remounted the Rio Plata from the Atlantic Ocean.

Such is the state and situation of all that has been hitherto discovered of this vast country of Peru, which is chiefly known along the coast of the South Sea, and has not been much explored in its inland parts, on account of the vast quantity of lofty and rude mountains, by which it is everywhere pervaded, and which are extremely difficult to pass; because of their height and precipitous nature, the excessive cold which prevails among them, and the scarcity of food. Yet the industry and courage of the Spaniards would have overcome all these obstacles, if there were any hope of finding a rich country beyond.