The travels of Pedro de Cieza de Léon, A.D. 1532-50,
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Title: The travels of Pedro de Cieza de Léon, A.D. 1532-50,
Author: Pedro de Cieza de León
Translator: Sir Clements R. Markham
Release date: April 23, 2015 [eBook #48770]
Most recently updated: October 24, 2024
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LÉON, A.D. 1532-50, ***
REPORT FOR 1864.
The Council have great pleasure in being able to report to the Members
of the Hakluyt Society that, during the last year, a considerable
increase has been made to their numbers. At the same time the list of
subscribers has been carefully revised, and has been cleared of a great
many names of members who disregard the applications made to them for
the payment of their arrears. The number of Members is now 224, and the
balance in the Banker’s hands is £431:17:3. The arrears due to the
Society amount to £290:17:0, while there are no outstanding debts of any
kind.
Thus the funds of the Society are in a prosperous condition, and several
Editors have, since the issue of the last annual Report, undertaken
works of great value and rarity. The Council, therefore, congratulate
the Members on the satisfactory state of the Society’s affairs; but they
would also remind them that a large addition to the number of the
subscribers is very desirable, and that the power of doing full justice
to the authors whose works are reproduced in the Society’s volumes,
depends upon the support which is received from those who are interested
in this very important branch of literature.
Since the last General Meeting, the two following volumes have been
delivered to members:--
1. “Mirabilia Descripta.” “Or the wonders of the East, by Friar
Jordanus (circa 1330).” Translated from the Latin original, with
the addition of a commentary by Colonel Henry Yule, C.B., late of
the Royal Engineers (Bengal).
2. “The Travels of Ludovico di Varthema in Egypt, Syria, Arabia
Deserta and Arabia Felix, in Persia, India, and Ethiopia (A.D. 1503
to 1508).” Translated from the original Italian edition of 1510,
with a preface, by John Winter Jones, Esq., F.S.A.; and edited with
Notes and an Introduction by the Rev. George Percy Badger.
The following work is in the hands of the printer, and will be delivered
to Members in the course of the autumn:--
“The Travels of Pedro de Cieza de Leon, from the gulf of Darien to
the city of La Plata, contained in the first part of the Chronicle
of Peru, which treats of the boundaries and description of
provinces, founding of new cities, rites and customs of the
Indians, and other strange things worthy to be known (Antwerp
1554).” Translated and edited, with Notes and an Introduction, by
Clements R. Markham, Esq.
And the following works have been undertaken by Editors, one of which
will be issued as the second volume for the present year:--
1. “The Travels of Josafa Barbaro and Ambrogio Contarini in Tana
and Persia.” Translated from Ramusio by E. A. Roy, Esq., and edited
by Viscount Strangford.
2. “The Narrative of Pascual de Andagoya, containing the earliest
notice of Peru.” Translated and edited, with Notes, by Clements R.
Markham, Esq.
3. “The Discovery and Conquest of the Canary Islands by Bethencourt
in 1402-25.” Translated and edited by Captain J. G. Goodenough,
R.N.
4. “The Voyage of Vasco de Gama round the Cape of Good Hope in
1497,” now first translated from a contemporaneous manuscript,
accompanied by other documents, forming a monograph on the life of
De Gama. To be translated and edited by Richard Garnett, Esq., of
the British Museum.
5. “The Three Voyages of Sir Martin Frobisher,” with a selection of
his letters now in the State Paper Office. Edited by Rear-Admiral
R. Collinson, R.N., C.B.
6. “Cathay, and the road thither.” A collection of all minor
notices of China, previous to the sixteenth century; to be
translated and edited, with Notes and an Introduction, by Colonel
Henry Yule, C.B.
7. “The Fifth Letter of Hernan Cortes, describing his Voyage to
Honduras in 1525-26,” to be translated and edited by William
Stirling, Esq., M.P.
8. “The Voyage and Travailes of John Hughen van Linschoten into the
East or Portugales Indies from A.D. 1576-92,” to be reprinted from
the English translation of 1598, and edited by the Rev. G. P.
Badger.
9. “Description of Africa and of the notable things in it, by John
Leo Africanus.” To be translated from Ramusio, and edited, with
Notes and an Introduction, by Dr. Henry Barth, C.B., Hon. Corr.
Mem. F.R.G.S.
The following Six Members retire from the Council:--
COMMODORE CRACROFT, R.N., C.B.
JOHN FORSTER, ESQ.
DR. HODGKIN.
SIR ERSKINE PERRY.
MAJOR GENERAL SIR HENRY RAWLINSON, K.C.B.
LORD BROUGHTON.
Of this number, the three following are proposed for re-election, viz:
SIR ERSKINE PERRY.
MAJOR GENERAL SIR HENRY RAWLINSON, K.C.B.
THE RIGHT HON. LORD BROUGHTON.
And the names of the following gentlemen are proposed for election:--
VISCOUNT STRANGFORD.
GENERAL C. FOX.
REAR-ADMIRAL R. COLLINSON, C.B.
CAPTAIN SHERARD OSBORN, R.N., C.B.
REV. G. P. BADGER.
JOHN W. KAYE, ESQ.
STATEMENT OF THE ACCOUNTS OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE YEAR 1863-64.
Balance at Banker’s at last |Mr. J. E. Richard, for Paper £35 2 0
Audit £357 10 0|Mr. Richards, for Printing 175 11 0
Received by Banker during |Transcriptions 21 17 0
the year 341 5 3|Mr. Stanford, for a Map 29 7 6
Petty Cash in hand at last |Charge at Hull, on £2:2
Audit 1 16 0| (Bank of England) 0 0 6
Petty Cash received in July |Gratuity to Agent’s Foreman 5 0 0
1864 10 0 0|Expended in Petty Cash 5 0 7
| ---------
| £271 18 7
|Present Balance at Banker’s 431 17 3
|Present Balance in Petty Cash 6 15 5
---------| ---------
£710 11 3| £710 11 3
---------| ---------
Examined and approved July 15th, 1864.
CHARLES BAGOT PHILLIMORE.
WILLIAM NEVILLE STURT.
THE
HAKLUYT SOCIETY.
President.
SIR RODERICK IMPEY MURCHISON, K.C.B., G.C.St.S., F.R.S., F.R.G.S, D.C.L.
Mem. Imp. Acad. Sc. St. Petersburg, Corr. Mem. Inst. Fr., &c. &c.
Vice-Presidents.
REAR-ADMIRAL C. R. DRINKWATER BETHUNE, C.B.
THE RIGHT HON. SIR DAVID DUNDAS, M.P.
Council.
REV. G. P. BADGER, F.R.G.S.
J. BARROW, ESQ., F.R.S.
RT. HON. LORD BROUGHTON.
REAR-ADMIRAL R. COLLINSON, C.B.
SIR HENRY ELLIS, K.H., F.R.S.
GENERAL C. FOX.
R. W. GREY, ESQ.
JOHN WINTER JONES, ESQ., F.S.A.
JOHN W. KAYE, ESQ.
HIS EXCELLENCY THE COUNT DE LAVRADIO.
R. H. MAJOR, ESQ., F.S.A.
SIR CHARLES NICHOLSON, BART.
CAPTAIN SHERARD OSBORN, R.N., C.B.
SIR ERSKINE PERRY.
MAJOR-GENERAL SIR HENRY C. RAWLINSON, K.C.B.
WILLIAM STIRLING, ESQ., M.P.
VISCOUNT STRANGFORD.
=Honorary Secretary=--C. R. MARKHAM, ESQ.
=Bankers=--MESSRS. RANSOM, BOUVERIE, AND CO., 1, PALL MALL EAST.
The Hakluyt Society, which is established for the purpose of printing
rare or unpublished Voyages and Travels, aims at opening by this means,
an easier access to the sources of a branch of knowledge, which yields
to none in importance, and is superior to most in agreeable variety. The
narratives of travellers and navigators make us acquainted with the
earth, its inhabitants and productions; they exhibit the growth of
intercourse among mankind, with its effects on civilization, and, while
instructing, they at the same time awaken attention, by recounting the
toils and adventures of those who first explored unknown and distant
regions.
The advantage of an Association of this kind, consists not merely in its
system of literary co-operation, but also in its economy. The
acquirements, taste, and discrimination of a number of individuals, who
feel an interest in the same pursuit, are thus brought to act in
voluntary combination, and the ordinary charges of publication are also
avoided, so that the volumes produced are distributed among the Members
(who can alone obtain them) at little more than the cost of printing and
paper. The Society expends the whole of its funds in the preparation of
works for the Members; and since the cost of each copy varies inversely
as the whole number of copies printed, it is obvious that the members
are gainers individually by the prosperity of the Society, and the
consequent vigour of its operations.
_New Members have_, at present, _the privilege of purchasing the
complete set of the publications of the Society for previous years for
thirteen guineas, but have not the power of selecting any particular
volume_.
The Members are requested to bear in mind that the power of the Council
to make advantageous arrangements, will depend, in a great measure, on
the prompt payment of the subscriptions, which are payable in advance on
the 1st of January, and are received by MR. RICHARDS, 37, Great Queen
Street, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, who is the Society’s agent for the
delivery of its volumes. Post Office Orders should be made payable to
MR. THOMAS RICHARDS, at the _West Central Office, High Holborn_.
WORKS ALREADY ISSUED.
=1--The Observations of Sir Richard Hawkins, Knt.=
In his Voyage into the South Sea in 1593. Reprinted from the edition of
1622, and edited by Capt. C. R. DRINKWATER BETHUNE, R.N., C.B.
=2--Select Letters of Columbus.=
With Original Documents relating to the Discovery of the New World. Translated
and Edited by R. H. MAJOR, Esq., of the British Museum.
=3--The Discoverie of the Empire of Guiana=,
By Sir Walter Ralegh, Knt. Edited, with copious Explanatory Notes, and a
Biographical Memoir, by SIR ROBERT H. SCHOMBURGK, Phil. D., etc.
=4--Sir Francis Drake his Voyage, 1595=,
By Thomas Maynarde, together with the Spanish Account of Drake’s attack
on Puerto Rico, Edited from the Original MSS., by W. D. COOLEY, Esq.
=5--Narratives of Early Voyages=
Undertaken for the Discovery of a Passage to Cathaia and India, by the North-west,
with Selections from the Records of the worshipful Fellowship of the
Merchants of London, trading into the East Indies; and from MSS. in the
Library of the British Museum, now first published by THOMAS RUNDALL, Esq.
=6--The Historie of Travaile into Virginia Britannia=,
Expressing the Cosmographie and Commodities of the Country, together with
the manners and Customs of the people, gathered and observed as well by
those who went first thither as collected by William Strachey, Gent., the first
Secretary of the Colony; now first Edited from the original manuscript in the
British Museum, by R. H. MAJOR, Esq., of the British Museum.
=7--Divers Voyages touching the Discovery of America=
And the Islands adjacent, collected and published by Richard Hakluyt,
Prebendary of Bristol in the year 1582. Edited, with Notes and an introduction,
by JOHN WINTER JONES, Esq., of the British Museum.
=8--A Collection of Documents on Japan.=
With a Commentary by THOMAS RUNDALL, ESQ.
=9--The Discovery and Conquest of Florida=,
By Don Ferdinando de Soto. Translated out of Portuguese by Richard
Hakluyt; and Edited, with notes and an introduction, by W. B. RYE, Esq.,
of the British Museum.
=10--Notes upon Russia=,
Being a Translation from the Earliest Account of that Country, entitled Rerum
Muscoviticarum Commentarii, by the Baron Sigismund von Herberstein,
Ambassador from the Court of Germany to the Grand Prince Vasiley Ivanovich,
in the years 1517 and 1526. Two Volumes. Translated and Edited, with
Notes and an Introduction, by R. H. MAJOR, Esq., of the British Museum.
Vol. I.
=11--The Geography of Hudson’s Bay.=
Being the Remarks of Captain W. Coats, in many Voyages to that locality,
between the years 1727 and 1751. With an Appendix, containing Extracts
from the Log of Captain Middleton on his Voyage for the Discovery of the
North-west Passage, in H.M.S. “Furnace,” in 1741-2. Edited by JOHN
BARROW, Esq., F.R.S., F.S.A.
=12--Notes upon Russia.= Vol. 2.
=13--Three Voyages by the North-east=,
Towards Cathay and China, undertaken by the Dutch in the years 1594, 1595,
and 1596, with their Discovery of Spitzbergen, their residence of ten months in
Novaya Zemlya, and their safe return in two open boats. By Gerrit de Veer.
Edited by C. T. BEKE, Esq., Ph.D., F.S.A.
=14-15--The History of the Great and Mighty Kingdom of China and
the Situation Thereof.=
Compiled by the Padre Juan Gonzalez de Mendoza. And now Reprinted
from the Early Translation of R. Parke. Edited by SIR GEORGE T.
STAUNTON, Bart. With an Introduction by R. H. MAJOR, Esq. 2 vols.
=16--The World Encompassed by Sir Francis Drake.=
Being his next Voyage to that to Nombre de Dios. Collated, with an
unpublished Manuscript of Francis Fletcher, Chaplain to the Expedition.
With Appendices illustrative of the same Voyage, and Introduction by W. S.
W. VAUX, Esq., M.A.
=17--The History of the Tartar Conquerors who Subdued China.=
From the French of the Père D’Orleans, 1688. Translated and Edited by the
EARL OF ELLESMERE. With an Introduction by R. H. MAJOR, Esq.
=18--A Collection of Early Documents on Spitzbergen and Greenland=,
Consisting of: a Translation from the German of F. Martin’s important work
on Spitzbergen, now very rare; a Translation from Isaac de la Peyrère’s
Relation de Groenland; and a rare piece entitled “God’s Power and Providence
showed in the miraculous preservation and deliverance of eight
Englishmen left by mischance in Greenland, anno 1630, nine moneths and
twelve days, faithfully reported by Edward Pelham.” Edited, with Notes, by
ADAM WHITE, Esq., of the British Museum.
=19--The Voyage of Sir Henry Middleton to Bantam and the Maluco Islands.=
From the rare Edition of 1606. Edited by BOLTON CORNEY, Esq.
=20--Russia at the Close of the Sixteenth Century.=
Comprising “The Russe Commonwealth” by Dr. Giles Fletcher, and Sir
Jerome Horsey’s Travels, now first printed entire from his manuscript in the
British Museum. Edited by E. A. BOND, Esq., of the British Museum.
=21--The Travels of Girolamo Benzoni in America, in 1542-56.=
Translated and Edited by ADMIRAL W. H. SMITH, F.R.S., F.S.A.
=22--India in the Fifteenth Century.=
Being a Collection of Narratives of Voyages to India in the century preceding
the Portuguese discovery of the Cape of Good Hope; from Latin, Persian,
Russian, and Italian Sources, now first translated into English. Edited, with
an Introduction by R. H. Major Esq., F.S.A.
=23--Narrative of a Voyage to the West Indies and Mexico=,
In the years 1599-1602, with Maps and Illustrations. By Samuel Champlain.
Translated from the original and unpublished Manuscript, with a Biographical
Notice and Notes by Alice Wilmere. Edited by NORTON SHAW.
=24--Expeditions into the Valley of the Amazons=
During the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: containing the Journey of
Gonzalo Pizarro, from the Royal Commentaries of Garcilasso Inca de la Vega;
the Voyage of Francisco de Orellana, from the General History of Herrera;
and the Voyage of Cristoval de Acuna, from an exceedingly scarce narrative
written by himself in 1641. Edited and Translated by CLEMENTS R.
MARKHAM, Esq.
=25--Early Indications of Australia.=
A Collection of Documents shewing the Early Discoveries of Australia to the
time of Captain Cook. Edited by R. H. MAJOR, Esq., of the British
Museum, F.S.A.
=26--The Embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the Court of Timour, 1403-6.=
Translated, for the first time, with Notes, a Preface, and an Introductory Life
of Timour Beg. By CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM, Esq.
=27--Henry Hudson the Navigator.=
The Original Documents in which his career is recorded. Collected, partly
Translated, and Annotated, with an Introduction by GEORGE ASHER, LL.D.
=28--The Expedition of Ursua and Aguirre=,
In search of El Dorado and Omagua, A.D. 1560-61, Translated from the
“Sexta Noticia Historial” of Fray Pedro Simon, by W. BOLLAERT, Esq.;
with an Introduction by CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM, Esq.
=29--The Life and Acts of Don Alonzo Enriquez de Guzman.=
Translated from a Manuscript in the National Library at Madrid, and edited,
with Notes and an Introduction, by CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM, Esq.
=30--Discoveries of the World by Galvano.=
From their first original unto the year of our Lord 1555. Reprinted, with the
original Portuguese text, and edited by VICE-ADMIRAL BETHUNE, C.B.
=31--Marvels described by Friar Jordanus=,
Of the Order of Preachers, native of Severac, and Bishop of Columbum; from
a parchment manuscript of the Fourteenth Century, in Latin, the text of which
has recently been Translated and Edited by COLONEL H. YULE, C.B.,
F.R.G.S., late of H.M. Bengal Engineers.
=32--The Travels of Ludovico di Varthema.=
In Syria, Arabia, Persia, India, etc., during the Sixteenth Century. Translated
by J. WINTER JONES, Esq., F.S.A., and edited, with Notes and an Introduction,
by the REV. GEORGE PERCY BADGER.
=33--The Travels of Cieza de Leon in 1532-50=
From the Gulf of Darien to the City of La Plata, contained in the first part of
his Chronicle of Peru (Antwerp 1554). Translated and edited, with Notes
and an Introduction, by CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM, Esq.
OTHER WORKS UNDERTAKEN BY EDITORS.
The Travels of Josafa Barbaro and Ambrogio Contarini in Tana and
Persia. Translated from Ramusio by E. A. ROY, Esq., and edited,
with an Introduction, by VISCOUNT STRANGFORD.
The Narrative of Pascual de Andagoya, containing the earliest
notice of Peru. Translated and edited, with Notes, by CLEMENTS R.
MARKHAM, Esq.
The Discovery and Conquest of the Canary Islands, by Bethencourt in
1402-25. Translated and edited by Captain J. G. GOODENOUGH, R.N.,
F.R.G.S.
The Voyage of Vasco de Gama round the Cape of Good Hope in 1497,
now first Translated from a cotemporaneous manuscript, accompanied
by other documents, forming a monograph on the life of De Gama. To
be translated and edited by RICHARD GARNETT, Esq., of the British
Museum.
The Three Voyages of Sir Martin Frobisher, with a selection from
his Letters now in the State Paper Office. Edited by REAR-ADMIRAL
R. COLLINSON, R.N., C.B.
Cathay and the Road Thither. A collection of all minor notices of
China, previous to the Sixteenth Century. Translated and edited by
COLONEL H. YULE, C.B.
The Fifth Letter of Hernan Cortes, describing his Voyage to
Honduras in 1525-26. Translated and edited by WILLIAM STIRLING,
Esq., M.P.
John Huigen van Linschoten. Discourse of a Voyage unto the East
Indies; to be reprinted from the English translation of 1598, and
edited by the Rev. G. P. BADGER, F.R.G.S.
Description of Africa and of the Notable Things in it, by John Leo
Africanus. To be translated from Ramusio, and edited, with Notes
and an Introduction, by Dr. H. BARTH, C.B., Hon. Corr. Mem.
F.R.G.S.
WORKS SUGGESTED TO THE COUNCIL FOR PUBLICATION.
Voyages of Alvaro de Mandana and Pedro Fernandez de Quiros in the
South Seas, to be translated from Suarez de Figueroa’s “Hechos del
Marques de Cañete,” and Torquemada’s “Monarquia Indiana.”
Inedited Letters, etc., of Sir Thomas Roe during his Embassy to
India.
The Travels of Duarte Barbosa in the East, to be translated from
the Portuguese.
The Voyage of John Saris to India and Japan in 1611-13, from a
manuscript copy of his Journal, dated 1617.
Pigasetta’s Narrative of the Voyage of Magalhaens, to be translated
from the Italian text, edited by Amoretti.
The Topografia Christiana of Cosmas Indicopleustes.
Bernhard de Breydenbach, 1483-84, A.D. Travels in the Holy Land.
Felix Fabri, 1483. Wanderings in the Holy Land, Egypt, etc.
Voyage of Du Quesne to the East Indies in 1692, from a manuscript
Journal by M. C. * * * *
El Edrisi’s Geography.
Narrative of Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine, concerning the
land called New France, discovered by him in the name of his
Majesty: written at Dieppe, 1524 A.D.
Voyage made by Captain Jaques Cartier in 1535 and 1536 to the isles
of Canada, Hochlega, and Saguenay.
Nicolo and Antonio Zeno. Their Voyages to Frisland, Estotiland,
Vinland, Engroenland, etc.
De Morga. Sucesos en las Islas Filipinas.
Ca da Mosto. Voyages along the Western Coast of Africa in 1454:
translated from the Italian text of 1507.
J. dos Santos. The History of Eastern Ethiopia. 1607.
Joam de Castro. Account of a Voyage made by the Portuguese in 1541,
from the city of Goa to Suez.
Caterino Zeno. A Journey to the empire of Persia, in the time of
Uzun Hassan.
John and Sebastian Cabot. Their Voyages to America.
Willoughby and Chancellor. Their Voyages to the North-east.
Icelandic Sagas narrating the Discovery of America.
LAWS OF THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.
I. The object of this Society shall be to print, for distribution among
its members, rare and valuable Voyages, Travels, Naval Expeditions, and
other geographical records, from an early period to the beginning of the
eighteenth century.
II. The Annual Subscription shall be One Guinea, payable in advance on
the 1st January.
III. Each member of the Society, having paid his Subscription, shall be
entitled to a copy of every work produced by the Society, and to vote at
the general meetings within the period subscribed for; and if he do not
signify, before the close of the year, his wish to resign, he shall be
considered as a member for the succeeding year.
IV. The management of the Society’s affairs shall be vested in a Council
consisting of twenty-one members, viz., a President, two
Vice-Presidents, a Secretary, and seventeen ordinary members, to be
elected annually; but vacancies occurring between the general meetings
shall be filled up by the Council.
V. A General Meeting of the Subscribers shall be held annually. The
Secretary’s Report on the condition and proceedings of the Society shall
be then read, and the Meeting shall proceed to elect the Council for the
ensuing year.
VI. At each Annual Election, fix of the old Council shall retire, of
whom three shall be eligible for re-election.
VII. The Council shall meet every month, excepting August, September,
October, and November, for the dispatch of business, three forming a
quorum, including the Secretary, and the Chairman having a casting vote.
VIII. Gentlemen preparing and editing works for the Society, shall
receive twenty-five copies of such works respectively, and an additional
twenty-five copies if the work is also translated.
RULES FOR THE DELIVERY OF THE SOCIETY’S VOLUMES.
I. The Society’s productions will be delivered without any charge,
within three miles of the General Post Office.
II. They will be forwarded to any place beyond that limit, the Society
paying the cost of booking, but not of carriage; nor will it be
answerable in this case for any loss or damage.
III. They will be delivered by the Society’s agent, MR. THOS. RICHARDS,
37, Great Queen Street, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, to persons having written
authority of subscribers to receive them.
IV. They will be sent to the Society’s correspondents or agents in the
principal towns throughout the kingdom; and care shall be taken that the
charge for carriage be as moderate as possible.
LIST OF MEMBERS
OF
THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.
Admiralty (The), _2 copies_.
All Souls College, Oxford.
Allport, Franklin, Esq., 156, Leadenhall-street.
Alston, Commander A. H.
Antiquaries, the Society of.
Army and Navy Club, 13, St. James’s-square.
Arrowsmith, John, Esq. 35, Hereford-square, South Kensington.
Asher, A., Berlin.
Asiatic Society of Calcutta.
Astor Library, New York.
Athenæum Club, The, Pall Mall.
Athenæum Library, Boston, U.S.
Badger, Rev. George Percy, F.R.G.S., 7, Dawson-place, Bayswater.
Baikie, Dr., Glasgow.
Bank of England Library and Literary Association.
Baring, Thomas George, Esq., M.P., 21, Lowndes-square.
Barlersque, C., Esq., Bordeaux.
Barrow, J., Esq., F.R.S., F.S.A., 17, Hanover-terrace, Regent’s Park.
Batho, J. A., Esq., 49, Upper Charlotte-street, Fitzroy-square.
Beke, Charles T., Esq., Phil. D., F.S.A., Bekesbourne, Canterbury.
Bell, Reverend Thomas, Berbice.
Benzon, E. L. S., Esq., Sheffield.
Berlin, The Royal Library of.
Bethune, Rear-Admiral C. R. Drinkwater, C.B., 4, Cromwell-road.
Bibliothèque Impériale, Paris.
Birmingham Library (The)
Blackie, Dr. Walter G., Villafield, Glasgow.
Boston Public Library, U.S.
Bowring, Sir John, LL.D., Athenæum Club.
Brevoort, J. C., Esq., New York.
British Museum (_copies presented_)
Brockhaus, F. A., Esq., Leipzig.
Brodhead, J. R., Esq., New York.
Broome, Major A.
Broughton, Lord, 42, Berkeley-square.
Brown, J. A., Esq., Newcastle-place, Clerkenwell.
Brown, John Carter, Esq., Providence, Rhode Island.
Brown, R., Esq., Sydney Mines, Cape Breton.
Brown, W. H., Esq., Chester.
Bruce, John, Esq., F.S.A., 5, Upper Gloucester-street, Dorset-square.
Bunbury, E. H., Esq., 35, St. James’s-street.
Cambridge University Library.
Campkin, Henry, Esq., F.S.A., Reform Club, Pall Mall.
Canada, The Parliament Library.
Cannon, Charles, Esq., British Museum.
Carlisle, The Right Hon. the Earl of, the Castle, Dublin.
Carlton Club, Pall Mall.
Cartwright, Henry, Esq., Her Majesty’s Gaol, Gloucester.
Cautley, Sir Proby, K.C.B., India Office.
Chatfield, Frederick, Esq., 12, Pall Mall.
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Glasgow College.
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WORKS ISSUED BY
The Hakluyt Society.
THE TRAVELS OF
PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON.
M.DCCC.LXIV.
*/
[Illustration: MAP OF PERU, QUITO & NEW GRANADA]
THE
TRAVELS
OF
PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON,
A.D. 1532-50,
CONTAINED IN THE
First Part of his Chronicle of Peru.
TRANSLATED AND EDITED,
WITH NOTES AND AN INTRODUCTION,
BY
CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM, F.S.A., F.R.G.S.,
AUTHOR OF “CUZCO AND LIMA,” “TRAVELS IN PERU AND INDIA,” AND A
“QUICHUA GRAMMAR AND DICTIONARY.”
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.
M.DCCC.LXIV.
LONDON: T. RICHARDS, 37, GREAT QUEEN STREET.
COUNCIL
OF
THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.
SIR RODERICK IMPEY MURCHISON, K.C.B., G.C.St.S., F.R.S., D.C.L.,
Corr. Mem. Inst. F., Hon. Mem. Imp. Acad. Sc. St. Petersburg, etc.,
etc., PRESIDENT.
REAR-ADMIRAL C. R. DRINKWATER BETHUNE, C.B.} VICE-PRESIDENTS.
THE RT. HON. SIR DAVID DUNDAS, M.P. }
REV. G. P. BADGER, F.R.G.S.
J. BARROW, ESQ., F.R.S.
RT. HON. LORD BROUGHTON.
REAR-ADMIRAL R. COLLINSON, C.B.
SIR HENRY ELLIS, K.H., F.R.S.
GENERAL C. FOX.
R. W. GREY, ESQ.
JOHN WINTER JONES, ESQ., F.S.A.
JOHN W. KAYE, ESQ.
HIS EXCELLENCY THE COUNT DE LAVRADIO.
R. H. MAJOR, ESQ., F.S.A.
SIR CHARLES NICHOLSON, BART.
CAPTAIN SHERARD OSBORN, R.N., C. B.
SIR ERSKINE PERRY.
MAJOR-GENERAL SIR HENRY C. RAWLINSON, K.C.B.
WILLIAM STIRLING, ESQ., M.P.
VISCOUNT STRANGFORD.
CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM, _Esq._, F.S.A., HONORARY SECRETARY.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION i
Dedication l
Prologue 4
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON.
CHAP. I.--Which treats of the discovery of the Indies, of some other
things which were done when they were first discovered, and of
the present state of affairs 11
CHAP. II.--Of the city of Panama, and of its founding, and why it is
treated of first, before other matters 14
CHAP. III.--Of the ports between Panama and the land of Peru, of the
distances between them, and of their latitudes 19
CHAP. IV.--Describes the navigation as far as the Callao of Lima,
which is the port of the City of the Kings 22
CHAP. V.--Of the ports and rivers on the coast, from the City of the
Kings to the province of Chile, and their latitudes, with other matters
connected with the navigation of these seas 27
CHAP. VI.--How the city of San Sebastian was founded in the bay of
Uraba; and of the native Indians in that neighbourhood 32
CHAP. VII.--How the barb is made so poisonous, with which the Indians
of Carthagena and Santa Martha have killed so many Spaniards 38
CHAP. VIII.--In which other customs of the Indians subject to the city
of Uraba are described 39
CHAP. IX.--Of the road between the city of San Sebastian and the city
of Antioquia, and of the wild beasts, forests, rivers, and other things
in the way; and how and in what season it can be passed 40
CHAP. X.--Of the grandeur of the mountains of Abibe, and of the
admirable and useful timber which grows there 43
CHAP. XI.--Of the cacique Nutibara, and of his territory: and of
other caciques subject to the city of Antioquia 46
CHAP. XII.--Of the customs of these Indians, of their arms, and of
the ceremonies they perform; and who the founder of the city of
Antioquia was 49
CHAP. XIII.--Of the description of the province of Popayan, and the
reason why the natives of it are so wild, and those of Peru so gentle 54
CHAP. XIV.--Containing an account of the road between the city of
Antioquia and the town of Anzerma, and of the region which lies
on either side of it 56
CHAP. XV.--Of the customs of the Indians of this land, and of the forests
that must be traversed in order to reach the town of Anzerma 59
CHAP. XVI.--Of the customs of the Caciques and Indians in the
neighbourhood of the town of Anzerma, of the founding of that town,
and who its founder was 62
CHAP. XVII.--Concerning the provinces and towns between the city of
Antioquia and the town of Arma; and of the customs of the natives 66
CHAP. XVIII.--Of the province of Arma, of the customs of the natives,
and of other notable things 69
CHAP. XIX.--The sacrifices offered up by these Indians, and what
great butchers they are in the matter of eating human flesh 71
CHAP. XX.--Of the province of Paucura, and of the manners and
customs of the natives 74
CHAP. XXI.--Of the Indians of Pozo, and how valiant they are, and
how dreaded by the neighbouring tribes 76
CHAP. XXII.--Of the province of Picara, and of the chiefs of it 80
CHAP. XXIII.--Of the province of Carrapa, and of what there is to be
said concerning it 82
CHAP. XXIV.--Of the province of Quinbaya, and of the customs of
the chiefs. Also concerning the foundation of the city of Cartago,
and who was its founder 85
CHAP. XXV.--In which the subject of the preceding chapter is continued;
respecting what relates to the city of Cartago, and its foundation,
and respecting the animal called _chucha_ 90
CHAP. XXVI.--Which touches upon the provinces in this great and
beautiful valley, up to the city of Cali 93
CHAP. XXVII.--Of the situation of the city of Cali, of the Indians in
its vicinity, and concerning the founder 99
CHAP. XXVIII.--Of the villages and chiefs of Indians who are within
the jurisdiction of this city of Cali 100
CHAP. XXIX.--In which the matter relating to the city of Cali is concluded;
and concerning other Indians inhabiting the mountains near
the port which they call Buenaventura 104
CHAP. XXX.--In which the road is described from the city of Cali to
that of Popayan, and concerning the villages of Indians that lie
between them 107
CHAP. XXXI.--Concerning the river of Santa Martha, and of the
things which are met with on its banks 111
CHAP. XXXII.--In which the account of the villages and chiefs subject
to the city of Popayan is concluded; and what there is to be said
until the boundary of Popayan is passed 114
CHAP. XXXIII.--In which an account is given of what there is between
Popayan and the city of Pasto; and what there is to be said concerning
the natives of the neighbouring districts 118
CHAP. XXXIV.--In which the account of what there is in this country
is concluded, as far as the boundary of Pasto 122
CHAP. XXXV.--Of the notable fountains and rivers in these provinces,
and how they make salt of good quality by a very curious
artifice 124
CHAP. XXXVI.--Which contains the description and appearance of
the kingdom of Peru from the city of Quito to the town of La Plata,
a distance of more than seven hundred leagues 128
CHAP. XXXVII.--Of the villages and provinces between the town
of Pasto and the city of Quito 131
CHAP. XXXVIII.--In which it is stated who were the Kings Yncas,
and how they ruled over Peru 135
CHAP. XXXIX.--Of other villages and buildings between Carangue
and the city of Quito: and of the robbery which the people of Otabalo
are said to have committed on those of Carangue 137
CHAP. XL.--Of the situation of the city of San Francisco del Quito, of
its foundation, and who it was who founded it 140
CHAP. XLI.--Concerning the villages beyond Quito as far as the royal
palaces of Tumebamba, and of some customs of the natives 145
CHAP. XLII.--Of the other villages between Llacta-cunga and Riobamba;
and of what passed between the Adelantado Don Pedro de Alvarado and
the Marshal Don Diego de Almagro 153
CHAP. XLIII.--Which treats of what there is to be said concerning the
other Indian villages as far as the buildings of Tumebamba 160
CHAP. XLIV.--Concerning the grandeur of the rich palaces of Tumebamba,
and of the province of the Cañaris 164
CHAP. XLV.--Concerning the road which leads from the province of
Quito to the coast of the South Sea, and the bounds of the city of
Puerto Viejo 170
CHAP. XLVI.--In which an account is given of certain things relating
to the province of Puerto Viejo; and also concerning the equinoctial
line 172
CHAP. XLVII.--Treating of the question whether the Indians of this
province were conquered by the Yncas or not; and concerning the death
which they inflicted on certain captains of Tupac Ynca Yupanqui 177
CHAP. XLVIII.--How these Indians were conquered by Huayna
Ceapac, and how they conversed with the devil, sacrificed to him, and
buried women alive with the bodies of their chiefs 179
CHAP. XLIX.-- 181
CHAP. L.--How in ancient tunes the Indians of Manta worshipped an
emerald as their God; and of other things concerning these Indians 182
CHAP. LI.--In which the account of the Indians of Puerto Viejo is
finished; and concerning the founding of that city, and who was its
founder 186
CHAP. LII.--Of the wells which there are at the point of Santa Elena;
of the story they tell respecting the arrival of giants in those parts;
and of the tar which is found there 188
CHAP. LIV.[1]--Concerning the foundation of the city of Guayaquil; and
how certain of the natives put the captains of Huayna Ceapac to
death 192
CHAP. LIV.--Of the island of Puna, and of that of La Plata; and
concerning the admirable root called sarsaparilla, which is so useful for
all diseases 198
CHAP. LVI.--How the city of Santiago de Guayaquil was founded and
settled, of some Indian villages which are subject to it, and concerning
other things until its boundary is passed 201
CHAP. LVII.--Of the Indian villages between the buildings of Tumebamba
and the city of Loxa, and concerning the founding of that
city 204
CHAP. LVIII.--Concerning the provinces between Tamboblanco and
the city of San Miguel, the first city founded by the Christian
Spaniards in Peru; and what there is to be said of the natives 209
CHAP. LIX.--In which the narrative is continued down to the foundation
of the city of San Miguel, and who was the founder. Also of the
difference of the seasons in this kingdom of Peru, which is a notable
thing; and how it does not rain along the whole length of these plains,
which are on the coast of the South Sea 212
CHAP. LX.--Concerning the road which the Yncas ordered to be made
along these coast valleys, with buildings and depôts like those in the
mountains; and why these Indians are called Yuncas 210
CHAP. LXI.--How these Yuncas were very superstitious, and how they
were divided into nations and lineages 219
CHAP. LXII.--How the Indians of these valleys and of other parts of
the country believe that souls leave the bodies, and do not die; and
why they desired their wives to be buried with them 221
CHAP. LXIII.--How they buried their dead, and how they mourned
for them, at the performance of their obsequies 225
CHAP. LXIV.-- 230
CHAP. LXV.--How they have a custom of naming children, in most of
these provinces, and how they sought after sorceries and charms 230
CHAP. LXVI.--Of the fertility of the land in these coast valleys, and
of the many fruits and roots they contain. Also concerning their
excellent system of irrigating the fields 233
CHAP. LXVII.--Of the road from San Miguel to Truxillo, and of the
valleys between those cities 238
CHAP. LXVIII.--In which the same road is followed as has been treated
of in the former chapter, until the city of Truxillo is reached 240
CHAP. LXIX.--Of the founding of the city of Truxillo, and who was
the founder 244
CHAP. LXX.--Of the other valleys and villages along the coast road,
as far as the City of the Kings 245
CHAP. LXXI.--Of the situation of the City of Kings, of its founding,
and who was the founder 248
CHAP. LXXII.--Of the valley of Pachacamac, and of the very ancient
temple in it, and how it was reverenced by the Yncas 251
CHAP. LXXIII.--Of the valleys between Pachacamac and the fortress
of Huarco, and of a notable thing which is done in the valley of
Huarco 255
CHAP. LXXIV.--Of the great province of Chincha, and how much it
was valued in ancient times 260
CHAP. LXXV.--Of the other valleys, as far as the province of Tarapaca 263
CHAP. LXXVI.--Of the founding of the city of Arequipa, how it was
founded, and who was its founder 267
CHAP. LXXVII.--In which it is declared how that, beyond the province
of Huancabamba, there is that of Caxamarca, and other large
and very populous provinces 269
CHAP. LXXVIII.--Of the foundation of the city of the frontier, who was
its founder, and of some customs of the Indians in the province 277
CHAP. LXXIX.--Which treats of the foundation of the city of Leon de
Huanuco, and who was its founder 282
CHAP. LXXX.--Of the situation of this city, of the fertility of its
fields, and of the customs of its inhabitants; also concerning a beautiful
edifice or palace of the Yncas at Huanuco 283
CHAP. LXXXI.--Of what there is to be said concerning the country
from Caxamarca to the valley of Xauxa; and of the district of Guamachuco,
which borders on Caxamarca 287
CHAP. LXXXII.--In which it is told how the Yncas ordered that the
storehouses should be well provided, and how these were kept in
readiness for the troops 290
CHAP. LXXXIII.--Of the lake of Bombon, and how it is supposed to
be the source of the great river of La Plata 294
CHAP. LXXXIV.--Which treats of the valley of Xauxa, and of its
inhabitants, and relates how great a place it was in times past 297
CHAP. LXXXV.--In which the road is described from Xauxa to the
city of Guamanga, and what there is worthy of note on the road 301
CHAP. LXXXVI.--Which treats of the reason why the city of Guamanga
was founded, its provinces having been at first partly under the
jurisdiction of Cuzco, and partly under that of the City of the
Kings 304
CHAP. LXXXVII.--Of the founding of the city of Guamanga, and
who was its founder 307
CHAP. LXXXVIII.--In which some things are related concerning the
natives of the districts near this city 310
CHAP. LXXXIX.--Of the great buildings in the province of Vilcas,
which are beyond the city of Guamanga 312
CHAP. XC.--Of the province of Andahuaylas, and what is to be seen as
far as the valley of Xaquixaguana 319
CHAP. XCI.--Of the river of Apurimac, of the valley of Xaquixaguana,
of the causeway which passes over it, and of what else there is to
relate until the city of Cuzco is reached 319
CHAP. XCII.--Of the manner in which the city of Cuzco is built, of
the four royal roads which lead from it, of the grand edifices it contained,
and who was its founder 322
CHAP. XCIII.--In which the things of this city of Cuzco are described
more in detail 330
CHAP. XCIV.--Which treats of the valley of Yucay and of the strong
fortress at Tambo, and of part of the province of Cunti-suyu 331
CHAP. XCV.--Of the forests of the Andes, of their great thickness, of
the huge snakes which are bred in them, and of the evil customs of the
Indians who live in the interior of these forests 336
NOTE TO CHAP. XCV.--On the river Purús, a tributary of the Amazon.
By Mr. Richard Spruce 339
CHAP. XCVI.--How the Indians carry herbs or roots in their mouths,
and concerning the herb called coca, which they raise in many parts
of this kingdom 352
CHAP. XCVII.--Of the road from Cuzco to the city of La Paz; and of
the villages, until the Indians called Canches are passed 353
CHAP. XCVIII.--Of the provinces of Canas, and of Ayavire 356
CHAP. XCIX.--Of the great district which is inhabited by the
_Collas_, of the appearance of the land where their villages are built,
and how the _Mitimaes_ were stationed to supply them with provisions 359
CHAP. C.--Of what is said concerning the origin of these Collas, of
their appearance, and how they buried their dead 362
CHAP. CI.--How these Indians perform their annual ceremonies, and of
the temples they had in ancient times 366
CHAP. CII.--Of the ancient ruins at Pucara, of the former greatness of
Hatun-colla, of the village called Azangaro, and of other things which
are here related 368
CHAP. CII.--Of the great lake which is within the province of the
Collao, of its depth, and of the temple of Titicaca 370
CHAP. CIV.--In which the narrative continues, and the villages are
described as far as Tiahuanaco 372
CHAP. CV.--Of the village of Tiahuanaco, and the great and ancient
edifices which are to be seen there 374
CHAP. CVI.--Of the founding of the city called of Our Lady of Peace,
who was its founder, and of the road thence to the town of Plata 380
CHAP. CVII.--Of the founding of the town of Plata, which is situated
in the province of Charcas 382
CHAP. CVIII.--Of the riches in Porco, and how there are large veins
of silver near that town 385
CHAP. CIX.--How they discovered the mines of Potosi, whence they
have taken riches such as have never been seen or heard of in other
times; and how, as the metal does not run, the Indians get it by the
invention of the _huayras_ 386
CHAP. CX.--There was the richest market in the world at this hill of
Potosi, at the time when these mines were prosperous 390
CHAP. CXI.--Of the sheep, _huanacus_, and _vicuñas_, which they have
in most parts of the mountains of Peru 392
CHAP. CXII.--Of a tree called _molle_, and of other herbs and roots in
this kingdom of Peru 395
CHAP. CXIII.--How there are large salt lakes and baths in this
kingdom; and how the land is suited for the growth of olives
and other fruits of Spain, and for some animals and birds of that
country 399
CHAP. CXIV.--How the native Indians of this kingdom were great
masters of the arts of working in silver and of building: and how
they had excellent dyes for their fine cloths 403
CHAP. CXV.--How there are great mines in most parts of this kingdom 406
CHAP. CXVI.--How many nations of these Indians make war one upon
the other, and how the lords and chiefs oppress the poorer people 407
CHAP. CXVII.--In which certain things are declared concerning the
Indians; and what fell out between a clergyman and one of them, in
a village of this kingdom 411
CHAP. CXVIII.--How, when a chief near the town of Anzerma wished
to become a Christian, he saw the devils visibly, who wished to deter
him from his good intention by their terrors 415
CHAP. CXIX.--How mighty wonders have been clearly seen in the
discovery of these Indies, how our Sovereign Lord God desires to watch
over the Spaniards, and how He chastises those who are cruel to the
Indians 418
CHAP. CXX.--Of the dioceses in this kingdom of Peru, who are the
bishops of them, and of the Royal Chancellery in the City of the
Kings 424
CHAP. CXXI.--Of the monasteries which have been founded in Peru,
from the date of its discovery down to the present year 1550 426
Index 429
INTRODUCTION.
The work of Pedro de Cieza de Leon is, in many respects, one of the most
remarkable literary productions of the age of Spanish conquest in
America. Written by a man who had passed his life in the camp from early
boyhood, it is conceived on a plan which would have done credit to the
most thoughtful scholar, and is executed with care, judgment, and
fidelity. But before examining the work itself, I will give some account
of its author--of whom, however, little is known, beyond what can be
gathered from his own incidental statements in the course of his
narrative.
Cieza de Leon is believed to have been born in the year 1519 in the city
of Seville, where he passed the first fourteen years of his life. It has
been conjectured that his father was a native of Leon,[2] in the north
of Spain, but absolutely nothing is known of his parentage.
In 1532, at the extraordinarily early age of fourteen, young Pedro
embarked at Seville, and set out to seek his fortunes in the New World.
At that time scarcely a year elapsed without seeing an expedition fitted
out, to undertake some new discovery or conquest. Seville and Cadiz
were crowded with adventurers, all eagerly seeking for a passage to that
marvellous land beyond the setting sun. It was, indeed, a time of wild
excitement. Every ship that returned from the Indies might, and not a
few did, bring tidings of the discovery of new and powerful empires
before undreamt of. People of all ages and of every grade in society
flocked to the sea ports, and took ship for the Indies; excited beyond
control by the accounts of those inexhaustible riches and fabulous
glories, which penetrated to every village in Spain. Among the leaders
of these expeditions there were some honourable knights, with courteous
manners and cultivated minds, such as Diego de Alvarado, Garcilasso de
la Vega, and Lorenzo de Aldana.[3] But the majority were either coarse
and avaricious adventurers, or disappointed courtiers, like that young
scamp Alonzo Enriquez de Guzman, whom I introduced to the notice of the
HAKLUYT SOCIETY in 1862. Cieza de Leon, at the time of his embarkation,
was a mere boy, too young to be classed under any of these heads. His
character was destined to be formed in a rough and savage school, and it
is most remarkable that so fine a fellow as our author really was,
should have been produced amidst the horrors of the Spanish American
conquest. Humane, generous, full of noble sympathies, observant, and
methodical; he was bred amidst scenes of cruelty, pillage, and wanton
destruction, which were calculated to produce a far different character.
Considering the circumstances in which he was placed from early
boyhood, his book is certainly a most extraordinary, as well as an
inestimable result of his labours and military services.
It does not appear in what fleet our boy soldier set out from Spain; but
judging from the date, and from the company in which we find him
immediately on landing in America, I consider it more than probable that
he sailed from his native land in one of the ships which formed the
expeditionary fleet of Don Pedro de Heredia.
Heredia, who had already served with distinction on the coast of Tierra
Firme, had obtained a grant of the government of all the country,
between the river Magdalena and the gulf of Darien, from Charles V. He
was a native of Madrid, where, having had his nostrils slit in a street
brawl, he had killed three of the men who had treated him with this
indignity. Forced to leave his native country, he took refuge in San
Domingo, and a relation had interest enough to get him appointed as
lieutenant to Garcia de Lerma, in an expedition to Santa Martha; whence
he returned to Spain. He was a man of considerable ability, judgment,
and determination, was respected by his own followers, and had already
had some experience in Indian warfare. His lieutenant was Francisco de
Cesar, one of the most dashing officers of the time.[4]
Heredia’s expedition, which consisted of one galleon and two caravels,
carrying in all about a hundred men, sailed from Cadiz in the end of
1532. They first touched at San Domingo, where Heredia took on board
more recruits, forty-seven horses, and some leathern cuirasses, which
had been prepared as a protection against the poisoned arrows of the
Indians. On the 14th of January 1533 the expedition entered the bay of
Carthagena,[5] on the main land of South America, where the
disembarkation of the Spaniards was bravely contested by the natives. In
no part of Spanish America did the Indians more resolutely defend their
homes, than along the coast of the Tierra Firme, as it was called; and
young Cieza de Leon saw some very rough service on his first landing in
the new world. Eventually Heredia succeeded in founding the city of
Carthagena, of which he was the first governor, and in establishing a
firm footing in the surrounding country: and for some three or four
years the future author continued to serve under him. In 1535 Cieza de
Leon accompanied Heredia’s brother Alonzo to the gulf of Darien or
Uraba, where a settlement was formed called San Sebastian de Buena
Vista.
Meanwhile, a judge, named Pedro Vadillo, was sent to Carthagena to
examine into the proceedings of Heredia, with full powers from the
_Audiencia_ of San Domingo; and he threw the governor into prison. His
violent proceedings were disapproved in Spain, and another lawyer was
sent out to sit in judgment on the judge. The licentiate Vadillo, who
seems to have been better fitted for a soldier than for a judge,
resolved to perform some service, or make some discovery in the
interval, the importance of which, in a military point of view, should
secure oblivion for his misconduct as a lawyer. He, therefore, organised
a force of four hundred Spaniards at San Sebastian de Uraba, and,
setting out early in 1538, crossed the mountains of Abibe, and advanced
up the valley of the Cauca.
Cieza de Leon, then in his nineteenth year, accompanied Vadillo in this
bold adventure as a private soldier. It was now upwards of five years
since he first landed in the new world, the whole of which time had been
spent by him in severe and dangerous service in the province of
Carthagena. At an age when most boys are at school, this lad had been
sharing in all the hardships and perils of seasoned veterans; and even
then he was gifted with powers of observation far beyond his years, as
is proved by his very interesting account of the Indians of Uraba.[6]
Amongst other things he tells us that the women of Uraba are the
prettiest and most loveable of any that he had seen in the Indies.
The expedition of Vadillo was one of those desperate undertakings which,
common as they were in the history of those times, still fill us with
astonishment. Young Cieza de Leon took his share in the dangers and
privations which were encountered, and which none but men endowed with
extraordinary bravery and fortitude could have overcome.
After marching over a low forest covered plain, the explorers had to
cross the mountains of Abibe, “where the roads were assuredly most
difficult and wearisome, while the roots were such that they entangled
the feet of both men and horses. At the highest part of the mountains
there was a very laborious ascent, and a still more dangerous descent on
the other side.” At this point many of the horses fell over the
precipices and were dashed to pieces, and even some of the men were
killed, while others were so much injured that they were left behind in
the forests, awaiting their deaths in great misery. On one occasion our
young soldier was posted as a sentry on the banks of a stream whence
some kind of centipede dropped from a branch, and bit him in the neck.
He adds that he passed the most painful and wearisome night he ever
experienced in his life. At length Vadillo’s gallant little band
completed their march over the terrible mountains of Abibe, and entered
the pleasant valleys ruled by the cacique Nutibara. Thence the bold
licentiate marched up the valley of the Cauca.
In this march the Spaniards suffered terribly from want of proper food,
the difficulties of the road, and the constant attacks of the Indians.
They clamoured for a retreat to the coast, but this did not suit the
views of Vadillo, who knew that imprisonment probably awaited him at
Carthagena; and, when the discontent of his men became formidable, he
drew his sword and rushed alone into the woods, crying out that, let who
would go back, he should press on till he met with better fortune. The
troops were ashamed to desert him, and eventually they reached Cali, in
the upper part of the Cauca valley. Here at length he was abandoned by
all his followers, and went on almost alone to Popayan, whence he
returned to Spain.[7]
The followers of Vadillo joined those of Lorenzo de Aldana,[8] who was
then governing Popayan for Pizarro, and many of them returned down the
valley of the Cauca again with an officer named Jorge de Robledo, who
was commissioned to conquer and settle the country discovered by
Vadillo. Among this number was our author, who witnessed the subjugation
of the cannibal tribes of the Cauca, the foundation of several so-called
cities, and the perpetration of much cruelty. He received a
_repartimiento_ of Indians in the province of Arma, for his services.
Robledo returned to Spain, and came back with the title of marshal, and
the grant of the government of a country with ill-defined limits, in
1546. The fierce and unscrupulous Sebastian de Belalcazar was then
governor of Popayan. He claimed the territory which Robledo had
occupied, and when that officer refused to retire, he surprised him at a
place called Picara on the 1st of October, 1546, took him prisoner, and
hung him, in spite of the entreaties of the unfortunate knight to be
beheaded like a gentleman.[9] The cannibal Indians are said to have
eaten the body. Cieza de Leon, who had served under Robledo for several
years, makes the following remark on his death, in recapitulating the
fate which overtook all the conquerors who were cruel to the natives:
“The marshal Don Jorge Robledo consented to allow great harm to be done
to the Indians in the province of Pozo, and caused many to be killed
with cross-bows and dogs. And God permitted that he should be sentenced
to death in the same place, and have for his tomb the bellies of
Indians.”[10] Our young author joined the service of Belalcazar, on the
death of Robledo.
Cieza de Leon began to write a journal of some kind, which formed the
material for his future work, in the year 1541 at Cartago, in the Cauca
valley, when serving under Robledo. He tells us that “as he noted the
many great and strange things that are to be seen in this new world of
the Indies, there came upon him a strong desire to write an account of
some of them, as well those which he had seen with his own eyes, as
those he had heard of from persons of good repute.”[11] He was then
twenty-two years of age, and from that time he seems to have persevered,
in spite of many difficulties, in keeping a careful record of all he saw
and heard. “Oftentimes,” he says, “when the other soldiers were
reposing, I was tiring myself by writing. Neither fatigue, nor the
ruggedness of the country, nor the mountains and rivers, nor intolerable
hunger and suffering, have ever been sufficient to obstruct my two
duties, namely writing and following my flag and my captain without
fault.”[12]
In 1547 the President Gasca landed in Peru, and marched against Gonzalo
Pizarro, who was in open rebellion at Cuzco. All loyal officers were
called upon to join the royal standard, and troops at Popayan were
hurried south with this object. Cieza de Leon, now a stout young man at
arms, was among them.[13] By this time he was a veteran of sixteen years
service, with his intellect matured and sharpened in a rough and trying
school, and every faculty on the alert. His habit of careful observation
with a fixed object, and the practical life he was leading, render his
remarks, on all he saw during this march, of the greatest value. Mr.
Prescott says of him that “his testimony, always good, becomes for these
events of more than usual value.”[14] The reinforcements from Popayan
marched by Pasto and Quito to Tumebamba, then down to the sea-shore, and
along the coast to Lima, then across the Andes again, by Xauxa and
Guamanga, until they joined the army of the president Gasca in the
valley of Andahuaylas.
Thus Cieza de Leon had the opportunity of seeing a very extensive and
varied tract of country. Nothing escaped his observation. The ruins of
palaces and store-houses, the great Ynca roads, the nature of the
country, the products, the natural phenomena, the method of irrigation,
the traditions,--all were carefully noted down by this indefatigable and
intelligent young observer. He was present at the final rout of Gonzalo
Pizarro, and at the subsequent trial and execution of that chief, and of
his fierce old lieutenant Carbajal.[15] He afterwards went to Cuzco, and
to the valleys to the eastward, and, in the year 1549, he undertook a
journey to the silver-yielding province of Charcas, with the sole object
“of learning all that was worthy of notice,”[16] under the special
auspices of the President Gasca himself, who supplied him with letters
of introduction. In travelling over the Collao, and along the shores of
lake Titicaca, he tells us that “he stopped to write all that deserved
mention concerning the Indians;”[17] and at Tiahuanaco “he wandered over
all the ruins, writing down what he saw.”[18] He then visited the silver
mines of Porco and Potosi, and returned to Lima, by way of Arequipa and
the coast. At Lima our author finished writing his notes on the 8th of
September, 1550, and sailed for Spain, after having passed seventeen
years of his life in the Indies.
The first part of his intended work was published at Seville in 1553;
and the author died in about 1560. We may gather from his writings that
he was humane and generous in his dealings with the Indians, indignant
at the acts of cruelty and oppression which he was forced to witness,
that he was in the habit of weighing the value of conflicting evidence
in collecting his information,[19] and that fuller reliance may be
placed on his statements, than upon those of almost any other writer of
the period. It is very much to be regretted that so little is known of
the life of this remarkable man, beyond what he incidentally tells us
himself.[20]
The young author commences his first part with a dedication to Philip
II, in which, while dwelling on the grandeur and importance of his
subject, he modestly says that he, an unlearned soldier, has undertaken
it, because others of more learning were too much occupied in the wars
to write. He began to take notes because no one else was writing
anything concerning what had occurred, and he reflected that “time
destroys the memory of events, in such sort that soon there is no
knowledge of what has passed.” In his prologue he gives a full and
detailed account of the four parts of his Chronicle, only the first of
which has reached us. They were to contain respectively the geography,
the early history, the conquest, and the civil wars of Peru. “The first
part,” he says, “treats of the division of the provinces of Peru, as
well towards the sea as inland, with the longitudes and latitudes. It
contains a description of the provinces; an account of the new cities
founded by the Spaniards, with the names of the founders, and the time
when they were founded; an account of the ancient rites and customs of
the native Indians, and other strange things very different from those
of our country, which are worthy of note.” It is this part, the only one
that was ever printed, which is now placed, for the first time in a
translated form, in the hands of Members of the HAKLUYT SOCIETY.
The work opens with a description of Panama; which is followed by a very
accurate notice of all the anchorages and headlands along the west coast
of South America, from that port to the southern part of Chile. Cieza de
Leon seems to have taken much pains in collecting accurate information
for the use of future navigators. “I have myself,” he says, “been in
most of the ports and rivers which I have now described, and I have
taken much trouble to ascertain the correctness of what is here written,
having communicated with the dexterous and expert pilots who know the
navigation of these ports, and who took the altitudes in my presence. I
have taken no little trouble to ascertain the truth, and I have examined
the new charts made by the pilots who discovered this sea.” He appears
also to have collected reports from mariners who had sailed through the
straits of Magellan, but they were lost, together with other papers and
journals, which were stolen in the confusion consequent on the battle of
Xaquixaguana.[21] The sailing directions of Cieza de Leon for the west
coast of South America are among the earliest attempts of the kind.
Information of the same sort is given in Dampier’s voyages; and these
were the rude forerunners of the complete works of Admiral Fitz Roy, and
other modern surveyors.
Having given the reader a clear idea of the coast of the great newly
discovered empire of the Yncas, Cieza de Leon lands him in the gulf of
Darien, and conducts him up the valley of the Cauca to Popayan.[22] This
portion of his narrative is the more important, because no other writer
has since given so complete an account of the Cauca valley. Cieza de
Leon is still the best authority concerning this region, notwithstanding
that more than three hundred years have elapsed since he wrote. It is
true that Restrepo, in the beginning of this century, published a
valuable memoir on Antioquia; and that such travellers as Cochrane,
Mollien, and Holton have written accounts of Cali and Cartago, in the
upper part of the valley of Cauca; but our author still stands alone in
having given a full description of the whole length of this little-known
valley. He not only describes the manners and customs of the aboriginal
tribes, which all appear to have been addicted to cannibalism, but adds
many very interesting pieces of information, such as a notice of the
different kinds of bees, of the various methods of obtaining salt, and
of the prevailing forms of animal and vegetable life.
From Popayan the reader is conveyed by this very pleasant companion
along the great plateau of the Andes, by Pasto, Quito, and Riobamba, to
Tumebamba, and Loxa.[23] Here, again, as indeed throughout the work, the
nature of the country, the distances, the manners and customs of the
natives, the climate, the staple products, and the animals to be met
with, are all carefully noted. There are also descriptions of several
ruined edifices, and a glowing account of the great road of the
Yncas.[24] In this section, too, there is an excellent general sketch of
the principal geographical features of Peru,[25] and some information
respecting the origin and rise of the Ynca dynasty.[26]
The chapters relating to the emeralds of Manta, the giants on point
Santa Elena, the island of Puna, and the city of Guayaquil, are derived
from hearsay, as our author does not appear to have visited that part of
the country; but he was careful to sift his authorities, and to weigh
their value,[27] and in this, as in many other respects, he is far
superior to most of the writers of his time. His chapter on the
equator[28] shows that questions of geographical science attracted the
attention of the young soldier; while his careful notes in connection
with the absence of rain on the Peruvian coast,[29] are evidence that he
was not unmindful of the natural phenomena of the strange land which he
was exploring.
After traversing the valley of the Cauca, and the Cordillera of the
Andes from Popayan to Loxa, Cieza de Leon descends to the Peruvian
coast, and describes the sandy deserts, and every intervening fertile
valley from Tumbez to Tarapaca.[30] Here again we have interesting
accounts of the manners and customs of the natives, especially of the
method of burying their dead; descriptions of ruins, of works of
irrigation, and of the great coast road of the Yncas; and notices of the
fruits, trees, and animals.
Having completed a survey of the coast valleys, Cieza de Leon returns to
the Cordillera of the Andes, and describes the country from Caxamarca,
by way of Huanuco, Xauxa, Guamanga, Andahuaylas, and Abancay, to
Cuzco,[31] the capital of the empire of the Yncas. After devoting two
chapters to the city of Cuzco,[32] he then gives an account of the
lovely valleys and interminable tropical forests to the eastward;[33]
and completes his extensive travels by a description of the cold region
of the Collao, the shores of lake Titicaca, the imposing ruins of
Tiahuanaco, and the silver-yielding provinces of Plata and Potosi. The
interest of the latter part of this remarkable work is enhanced by the
discussion of such points in physical geography as the drainage of lake
Titicaca, and by information respecting the silver mines, the animals of
the llama tribe found in Peru, the vegetable products of the country,
and the progress of the Indians in the arts of building, weaving, dying,
and working in silver, stone, and clay.
Such is a brief sketch of the contents of Cieza de Leon’s chronicle.
Bearing evident marks of honesty of purpose, and skill in the selection
of materials, on the part of its author, it is at the same time written
by one who examined almost every part of the empire of the Yncas, within
a few years of the conquest. It is, therefore, a work of the greatest
possible value to the student of early South American history, and has
always stood very high as an authority, in the estimation of modern
historians. Among these, Mr. Prescott bears strong testimony to the
merits of Cieza de Leon.[34]
The first part of the Chronicle of Peru, by Pedro de Cieza de Leon, was
published at Seville (folio) by Martin Clement in 1553. A second
edition, in duodecimo, was printed at Antwerp by the famous publisher
Jean Steeltz, in 1554; and a third edition, translated into Italian by
Augustino di Gravalis, appeared at Rome, from the press of Valerius
Dorigius (octavo) in 1555. A copy of the first Seville edition, which
is in black letter, fetched £10 at Lord Stuart de Rothesay’s sale a few
years ago.
It would appear that the author completed the second and third parts of
his Chronicle before his death, if not the fourth, and Mr. Rich found
them at Madrid in manuscript;[35] but they have never been printed. The
disappearance of the second part is by far the greatest loss that has
been sustained by South American literature, since the burning of Blas
Valera’s manuscript, when Lord Essex sacked Cadiz. It contained an
account of the government of the Yncas, described their customs, laws,
temples, and roads, and related the traditions connected with their
origin and history. There can be no doubt that it was written, because
Cieza de Leon, in his first part, frequently refers to special passages
in it for further information. Our author had peculiar advantages for
writing the history of ancient Peruvian civilisation. He was in Peru so
soon after the conquest, that he had opportunities of conversing with
many of the advisers and generals of the greatest of the Yncas; while
his habits of careful observation, his caution, and his sound judgment
on points unconnected with his religion, rendered him more fit to record
the history of the Yncas, than even Garcilasso de la Vega, or any
subsequent chronicler. For these reasons the loss of his second part can
never be sufficiently deplored.
Before leaving my author to the reader’s judgment, it will be well to
give some general idea of the great empire of the Yncas, as it appeared
in the days when Cieza de Leon first gazed upon its snowy mountains, and
at the same time to offer some account of what is known concerning the
people who inhabited it. Such a sketch will form a fitting introduction
to the agreeable chapters of the young Spaniard; and will, I trust,
stimulate, in some degree, the interest with which they will be read.
There is scarcely any country in the world which presents so great a
variety of aspects as that region, stretching from the Ancasmayu to the
Maule, which once formed the empire of the Yncas. Within these wide
limits there are snowy mountain peaks second only to the Himalayas in
height; cold plains and bleak hills where a tough grass is the only
vegetation; temperate valleys covered with corn fields and willow
groves; others filled with richest sub-tropical vegetation; vast plains
forming one interminable primeval forest traversed by navigable rivers;
trackless sandy deserts; and fertile stretches of field and fruit garden
on the Pacific coast. Cieza de Leon properly divides this region into
four great divisions:--the uninhabitable frozen plains and mountain
peaks, the temperate valleys and plains which intersect the Andes, the
great primeval forests, and the deserts and valleys of the coast. It is
a land of surpassing grandeur, and exceeding beauty. The snowy peaks of
the Andes, upwards of twenty thousand feet above the sea, may be seen
from the deserts of sand which fringe the coast, rising in their majesty
from the plains, and towering up into a cloudless sky. In the northern
and central part of this Peruvian cordillera, the mountain ranges are
broken up into profound ravines and abysses, producing scenery of
unequalled splendour. At one glance of the eye a series of landscapes
may here be taken in, representing every climate on the globe. On the
steep sides of one mountain are the snowy wilds and bleak ridges of the
Arctic regions, the cold pastures of northern Scotland, the corn fields
and groves of central Europe, the orange trees and vineyards of Italy,
and the palms and sugar canes of the tropics. But it is in the lovely
ravines which lead from the eastern slopes of the Andes to the virgin
forests of the interior that nature has been most profusely decked with
all the charms that can please the eye, and enriched with overflowing
vegetable and mineral wealth. The forests here abound in those beautiful
chinchona trees, the fragrance and beauty of whose flowers are almost
forgotten because of the inestimable value of their bark. Slender and
delicate palms and tree ferns of many kinds, matted creepers, and giant
buttressed trees clothe the steep hill sides; and cascades and torrents
unite to form rivers, whose sands sparkle with gold. Whether it be in
these forest-covered valleys, in the stupendous ravines of the
Cordillera, on the frozen heights, or amidst the sandy wildernesses of
the coast, the scenery is ever on a scale either of sublime grandeur or
of exquisite beauty. Rich, indeed, was the prize which the hardy
comrades of Cieza de Leon won for the Castilian crown.
In contemplating this glorious region, one of the first thoughts that
naturally suggests itself is that the early inhabitants must have been,
to a great extent, isolated and shut out from all intercourse with their
neighbours, by the almost insuperable obstacles which the nature of the
country presents to locomotion; and this remark is equally applicable to
every part of a country which is unequalled in the variety of its
climates and of its general features. The spread of the empire of the
Yncas is, considering all the circumstances, the most remarkable
occurrence in the history of the American race; and one of its results
was the destruction of all former land marks of tribe or creed, and the
reduction of the numerous ancient nations of the Cordillera and the
coast to one great family under one head, by a process not unlike that
which takes place on the acquisition of every new province by modern
France. Hence the great difficulty of obtaining any clear idea of the
condition of the various tribes which inhabited Peru, at a date anterior
to the Ynca conquests and annexations. A careful study of the subject,
however, enables us at least to distinguish a few leading facts--namely
that the region, which afterwards formed the empire of the Yncas, was
originally peopled by a number of distinct nations, speaking different
languages, and slowly advancing on independent paths of very gradual
progress, though all bearing a strong family likeness to each other. I
will briefly state what I have been able to gather respecting these
aboriginal tribes, commencing with the Quichuas, that imperial race
which eventually, under its renowned Yncas, swallowed up all the
others.
In the central part of the Peruvian Cordillera, round the city of Cuzco,
the country consists of cool but temperate plains and warm genial
valleys. On the plains there were clumps of _molle_ trees,[36] and crops
of _quinoa_,[37] _ocas_,[38] and potatoes, while large flocks of llamas
browsed on the coarse tufts of _ychu_ grass. In the valleys the rich and
abundant fields of maize were fringed by rows of delicious fruit
trees--the chirimoya,[39] the paccay, the palta,[40] the lucuma, and the
granadilla. This region was called in the native language--Quichua, and
the inhabitants were Quichuas.[41]
The eventual predominance of these Quichuas may probably be accounted
for by the superiority of the climate and natural conformation of their
native country. While their neighbours, on the one hand, had to struggle
painfully with the encroaching vigour of tropical forests, and, on the
other, with the hardships of a sterile and half frozen alpine plateau,
or with the isolation of small villages surrounded by trackless sandy
deserts, the Quichuas were enjoying a warm though healthy climate, and
reaping abundance from a fertile soil. They were placed in a position
which was most advantageous for the complete development of all the
civilisation of which that great family of mankind, to which they
belong, are capable.
And they attained to that degree of civilisation by very slow and
gradual advances. Many things, and especially the character of the
people, lead to the belief that cycles of ages must have elapsed before
these Quichuas were in a position to establish a superiority over their
neighbours, and assume the position of an imperial people.
The Quichuas were a fine, well-developed race, of short stature. They
were square shouldered, and broad chested, with small hands and feet,
and a comparatively large head. The hair is black and long, and usually
plaited into numerous minute plaits, and they have little or no beard.
The eyes are horizontal with arched brows, the forehead high but
somewhat receding, the nose aquiline and large, the lips thick, cheek
bones rather high, and chin small. These people were gentle, hospitable,
and obedient. They were good fathers and husbands, patient, industrious,
intelligent, and sociable, and loved to live together in villages,
rather than in scattered huts.[42] The women, when young, were
exceedingly pretty and well shaped, and they held an honourable and
respected place in society. The mass of the people were either farmers
or shepherds. Each family had a piece of land apportioned to it by the
State, often in well-built terraces up the sides of the mountains, on
which the members either hoed and ploughed the soil, and raised crops of
gourds, maize, potatoes, _ocas_, or _quinoa_; or they cultivated fruit
trees; or, again, they tended flocks of llamas on the pasture lands,
according to the situation of their little patrimonies. Their
habitations were of stone or mud, covered with admirable thatched
roofs,[43] they wove warm cloth from llama wool, made earthenware and
stone vessels, manufactured tasteful ornaments of gold and silver, and
used hoes, rakes, rude ploughs, and other simple agricultural
implements.
One important test of the capacity of a people for civilisation is their
ability to domesticate animals. The inferiority of the African, as
compared with the Hindu, is demonstrated by the latter having
domesticated the elephant and made it the useful and hard-working
companion of man; while the former, during the thousands of years that
he has inhabited the African continent, has never achieved any such
result, and has merely destroyed the elephant for the sake of his ivory
tusks. Now, in the case of the Quichuas, although their domesticated
animals were few, they comprised all that were capable of domestication
within the limits of their country. During the three centuries that
Europeans have since been masters of Peru, not a single indigenous
quadruped or bird has been added to the list. The domesticated animals
of the Quichuas were the llama, the alpaca, a dog, the _ccoy_ or guinea
pig, and a duck. Besides these they tamed, as pets, the monkey, the
parrot, the toucan,[44] a kind of gull frequenting the lakes of the
Andes, a hawk, and several finches. The llama and alpaca do not exist in
a wild state at all, and the variety in the colours of their fleeces
seems to be a sign of long domestication. The huanacu and vicuña, the
wild species of their family, have fleeces of a uniform and unalterable
colour, and it probably took an incalculable period[45] to change the
wild into the domesticated form. The llama served the Quichuas as a
beast of burden, its flesh supplied them with food, its fleece with
clothing, and its hide with thongs and sandals. The finer fleece of the
alpaca was reserved for the use of the sovereign and his nobles.[46]
Guinea pigs ran in hundreds about the huts, they were used as food, and
the variety of their colours points out the length of time during which
they had been in a domesticated state. The _alco_ or dog was the
companion of the Quichua shepherds; and the duck was bred in their
homesteads for food, and for the sake of the feathers, which often
formed a fringe for the women’s _llicllas_ or mantles.
These simple Quichua farmers and shepherds seem to have kept many
festivals, and other observances handed down to them by their fathers. A
half philosophic sun worship was enjoined by their superiors, but the
people retained an ancient habit of deifying and making household gods
of their llamas, their corn, and their fruit. Their seasons of sowing
and of harvest were celebrated by dancing and singing, and their songs,
some of which have been preserved, were lively and graceful: but the
_chicha_ bowl flowed far too freely. A barbarous rite of burial was
practised by these people in common with nearly all South American
tribes, and is described in many places by Cieza de Leon; and they held
the _malquis_ or mummies of their dead in superstitious veneration.
The productiveness of the soil and the increasing prosperity of the
people had, in the course of time, given rise to a governing class of
_Curacas_ and nobles, to a caste of _Umus_ and _Huaca-camayocs_, or
priests and diviners, and eventually to a despotic sovereign or _Ynca_,
with a privileged royal family. This upper class had leisure, was
exempted from ordinary toil, acquired numerous artificial wants, and
therefore gradually developed that higher civilisation in the Quichua
nation which eventually enabled it to spread its conquests over an
immense region, and to consolidate a great and well organised empire.
The advances in civilisation of this upper class were by no means
contemptible. The ruins at Cuzco, and in the neighbourhood, bear witness
to their marvellous skill in masonry. Their buildings were massive,
indeed Cyclopean, but the huge stones were cut and put in their places
with extraordinary accuracy; and, although the general effect is plain
and sombre, there was frequently some attempt at ornamentation. Such
were the rows of recesses with sides sloping inwards, the cornices, and
the occasional serpents and other figures carved in relief on the
stones. The roofs, though merely of thatch, were thick and durable, and
so artistically finished as to give a very pleasing effect to the
buildings.[47]
In the furniture of their dwellings and the clothing of their persons
the Ynca nobles had reached a high degree of refinement. Their pottery
is especially remarkable, and the Peruvian potter gratified the taste of
his employers by moulding vessels into every form in nature, from which
he could take a model. Professor Wilson, who has carefully examined
several collections of ancient Peruvian pottery, says--“Some of the
specimens are purposely grotesque, and by no means devoid of true comic
fancy; while, in the greater number, the endless variety of combinations
of animate and inanimate forms, ingeniously rendered subservient to the
requirements of utility, exhibit fertility of thought in the designer,
and a lively perceptive faculty in those for whom he wrought.”[48] Many
of these vessels, moulded into forms to represent animals and fruits,
were used as _conopas_ or household gods; others were for the service of
the temple; others for interment with the _malquis_ or mummies, and
others for the use of the Yncas and their nobles. The common people used
vessels of simple form. The Yncas also had drinking cups of gold and
silver, beaten out very fine, and representing llamas, or human heads.
Vessels of copper also, and plates and vases of stone with serpents
carved round them in relief, are of frequent occurrence, as well as
golden bracelets and breast-plates, and mirrors of silver or polished
stone. Their knives and other cutting instruments were of copper,
hardened with tin or silica.[49] Their clothing consisted of cloth woven
from the wool of the llama, alpaca, and vicuña; the latter as fine as
silk and undyed, for its own rich chestnut colour was sufficiently
becoming. They had attained to great proficiency in the art of weaving
and dyeing. Tasteful designs were woven in the cloth, which was dyed
flesh colour, yellow, gray, blue, green, and black; for they knew the
art of fixing dyes extracted from vegetable substances, so that the
cloth will never fade.[50] They ornamented their robes, tunics, rugs,
and blankets with fringes, borders of feathers, and also by sowing on
them rows of thin gold and silver plates, sometimes square, at others
cut into the shape of leaves and flowers. They also adorned wooden seats
and couches, by covering them with these thin plates of gold and silver.
The interior of a hall in the palace of an Ynca was thus filled with
articles of luxury. The great doors, with the sides gradually
approaching, were often ornamented with a cornice, and finished above
with a huge stone lintel. The walls of solid masonry, beautifully cut
and polished, had small square windows,[51] and deep recesses of the
same size, at intervals. The walls were hung with rich vicuña cloth
fringed with bezants of gold and silver, or with llama cloth dyed with
bright colours, and woven into tasteful patterns. The niches were filled
with gold and silver statues, and with vases moulded into the shape of
llamas, birds, and fruit. The floors were soft with rich carpets and
rugs, and the seats and couches were plated with gold. Numerous small
chambers opened on the great halls, and the baths were fitted up with
metal spouts in the form of serpents, from which the water flowed into
stone basins.[52]
The intellectual advancement of the Quichua people had kept pace with
the increase in their material comforts; and their religious belief,
their literary culture, their discoveries in the sciences of astronomy
and mechanics, and their administrative talent, if not of a very high
order, at least prove very clearly that they were not incapable of
attaining a respectable rank amongst civilised nations. During the last
two centuries of their existence as an independent people, their
progress was very rapid.
The religion of the Yncas and their nobles was, as is well known, a
worship of the celestial bodies, and especially of the sun; that of the
cultivators and shepherds a reverence for every object in nature--for
their llamas, for their corn, for their fruits, for hills and streams,
and above all for the _malquis_ or mummies of their dead. To all these,
sacrifices of the fruits of the earth were made. The more spiritual
worship of the men of leisure was combined with complicated ceremonial
observances, gorgeous temples, and an influential caste of priests, wise
men, and virgins. The worship of the sun, and the great importance
attached to its apparent course, as connected with the seasons of sowing
and reaping, led to the acquirement of some astronomical knowledge, but
there is no evidence that any great progress was made in this direction.
The Chibchas of Bogota and the Aztecs of Mexico were in advance of the
Quichuas in astronomical science. The Yncas knew the difference between
the solar and lunar year, they had introduced intercalary days to
reconcile that difference, and they observed the periods of the
solstices and equinoxes. They also watched and recorded the courses of
some of the stars, and of comets. They had a complete system of
numerals, perfectly balanced pairs of scales have been found in Peruvian
tombs, and their administrators must have been in the habit of making
and recording very complicated revenue accounts. Their year was divided
into twelve months, and great periodical festivals celebrated the
periods of the solstices and equinoxes.[53] The proficiency of the
Quichuas in mechanical science was of a high order, as is attested by
their magnificent roads and aqueducts, and by the conveyance of
Cyclopean blocks of stone for their buildings.
The language of the Quichuas was carefully cultivated during many
centuries by the _Haravecs_ or bards in their love ditties and songs of
triumph, and by the _Amautas_ or wise men, whose duty it was to preserve
the traditions of the people, and to prepare the rituals for the worship
of the Deity; and their literary productions in prose and verse were
preserved by means of the _quipus_. The Quichua was a highly polished
language, and the student who may turn his attention to the history of
the South American races, will find in this rich and copious tongue many
ancient fragments of prose and poetry which will convince him of the
civilisation of the ancient Peruvians.[54] It is true that they had not
discovered the use of letters, but it must be remembered that they were
completely isolated and precluded from exchanging ideas with the other
races of mankind. If no communication, direct or indirect, had existed
between Phœnicia and the other countries of the old world, how many
of them would, by their own unassisted genius, have discovered the use
of letters. Would the Tamils and Canarese of India? Would the Malays of
the islands? It may well be doubted; and, after all, the _quipus_,
though a clumsy, were not altogether an inefficient substitute.[55]
But it is in their administrative arrangements that the intellectual
progress of the Yncas is most strikingly displayed. Theirs was the most
enlightened despotism that ever existed. The Ynca claimed to be
_Yntip-churi_ or “child of sun,” but his not less glorious title was
_Huaccha-cuyac_ or “friend of the poor.” His duty was to superintend the
comfort and happiness of the people, and to take care that no family was
without a _topu_ or plot of ground sufficient for his maintenance. The
net produce of the land was divided into three equal parts, one for the
cultivators, the second for religious and charitable purposes, and the
third for the Ynca and his government; including the clothing and
maintenance of the nobles, and of soldiers, miners, potters, weavers,
and other artizans. _Curacas_ or chiefs were placed over the different
districts, with subordinate officers under them, and a minute
supervision was exercised over all matters connected with revenue and
judicial administration. Crime was almost unknown.[56]
Such were the QUICHUAS, the representative people of the Peruvian Andes.
To the eastward of their original territory, in the virgin forests which
are traversed by the tributaries of the Amazon, dwelt the ANTIS and
CHUNCHOS, who wandered about in search of food, through the interminable
wilderness of matted vegetation. They never seem to have made any
progress; what they are now, such they were centuries ago: the nature of
the country renders advancement impossible. Moreover they probably
belong to the great Tupi-Guarani race of Brazil, and are distinct from
the Peruvian tribes. To the south of the Quichuas, on either side of the
upper valley of the Vilcamayu, were the wild shepherd tribes called
ASANCATUS, ASILLUS, CAVINAS, CANAS, and CANCHES.[57] But still further
south, beyond the Vilcañota range of mountains, there was a great
people, almost rivalling the Quichuas, who seem to have made some
progress in civilisation, in the face of formidable natural
difficulties. These were the COLLAS or AYMARAS.
In the southern part of Peru the Cordillera of the Andes is divided into
two chains. That to the eastward, containing the peaks of Illimani and
Yllampu, consists of rocks of Silurian formation mixed with granite, and
the peaks themselves are said to be fossiliferous to their summits. The
other range to the westward is chiefly volcanic, and contains the famous
volcano of Misti, and the glorious peaks of Chuquibamba and Chacani.
Between these two chains of mountains there are lofty plateaux, never
less than twelve thousand feet above the sea, the drainage of which
flows into the great lake of Titicaca. Here there are no deep temperate
valleys and ravines, nothing but bleak plains covered with coarse tufts
of grass, with occasional patches of potatoe, quinoa, and oca. The
climate is very severe, and the only trees, which are few and far
between, are the stunted crooked _queñua_ (_Polylepis villosa_) and the
dark leaved _ccolli_ (_Buddleia coriacea_). In some places a low shrubby
_Baccharis_ is met with, which serves as fuel. This region, known as the
Collao, was inhabited by the Aymara nation.
These Aymaras had to contend against a rigorous climate and an
unproductive soil; they had none of the advantages enjoyed by their
Quichua neighbours, and had consequently made slower advances in
civilisation, but they were apparently an offshoot from the same common
stock. The descendants of the Aymaras are shorter and more thick-set
than those of the Quichuas, and their features are coarser and less
regular. Cieza de Leon says that they flattened their skulls in infancy.
They wore woollen cloths and square caps, and the women had hoods like
those of a friar.[58] The land was too cold for maize, and the people
lived on potatoes and ocas, which they preserved by drying them in the
sun and then freezing them, for winter use. In this state they were
called _chuñus_. There were large flocks of llamas and alpacas, and wild
vicuñas on the unfrequented heights. The Aymaras lived in stone huts
roofed with straw, which were built close together in villages, with the
potatoe, oca, and quinoa fields around them.[59] Cieza de Leon states
that the Collao was once very populous, and the numerous vestiges of
former cultivation up the terraced sides of the mountains, bear witness
to the truth of his assertion. The people were ruled by chiefs who were
treated with great respect, and carried about in litters.
There is a mystery about the civilisation of the ancient Aymaras, which
cannot now be solved. The origin and history of the extensive unfinished
ruins at Tiahuanaco, near the southern shore of lake Titicaca, will for
ever remain a secret; but there can be no doubt that a people who could
form so magnificent a design, convey such huge blocks of stone from
great distances, hew out the enormous monolithic doorways, and carve
them with such minuteness of ornamental detail, must have been numerous,
and civilised.[60] There are also remains of Aymara burial places in
various parts of the Collao, especially on the peninsula of Sillustani,
which consist of towers of hewn masonry.[61] We learn from Cieza de Leon
that the Aymaras observed the movements of the sun and moon, and divided
their year into ten months. He considered them to be a very intelligent
people. He gives an account of their funeral ceremonies,[62] and a very
interesting description of a harvest home among the Aymaras,[63] and
states that they were often engaged in civil wars.[64] The Aymara
language, which is still in common use on the banks of lake Titicaca,
though identical with Quichua in grammatical construction, has a
distinct vocabulary.[65] It is worthy of remark, however, that though
the first few numerals in Aymara are indigenous, all the higher numbers
are borrowed from the Quichua.[66] Next to the Quichuas, the Aymaras
were by far the most important and civilised people in the Peruvian
Andes; and though their climate and soil was against them, there is some
ground for the opinion that their civilisation, such as it was, boasts
of an origin more ancient than that of the Quichuas. But all such
speculations are mere conjecture.
In the rich valleys and on the grassy mountain sides of the Central
Peruvian Andes, to the westward of the Quichuas, dwelt three nations
which were called by their future conquerors--the CHANCAS, POCRAS, and
HUANCAS.[67] They inhabited the districts now known as Abancay,
Andahuaylas, Guamanga, and Xauxa. Little or nothing is known of their
history anterior to their absorption into the empire of the Yncas, and
if they had a distinct language, it must have been either very barbarous
or very closely allied to Quichua, for no vestige of it has
survived.[68] All the ruins which might have enabled us to form an idea
of their skill in building, such as the temple of Huarivilca in the
valley of Xauxa,[69] have entirely disappeared. It appears, however,
that they were very fierce and warlike, that each village had a
fortress, and that they made a desperate struggle for independence
before they were finally subjugated by the Quichuas.[70]
North of Xauxa, the valleys and plateaux of the Cordillera were
inhabited by the CONCHUCOS, and by the Indians of Huamachuco, Caxamarca,
Chachapoyas, and Bracamoras. This brings us to the frontier of Quito.
The tribes of northern Peru are also said to have been warlike, and to
have been incessantly engaged in feuds with each other.[71] They are
described as intelligent industrious agriculturists, with some knowledge
of the courses of the heavenly bodies, and the same customs of burying
their dead and worshipping _huacas_ in the form of stones or other
natural objects, as prevailed among the masses of the Quichua
people.[72]
We now come to the inhabitants of the numerous isolated fertile tracts
on the Pacific coast, who were all known by the Yncas, as YUNCAS or
“dwellers in the warm valleys.”[73]
The Peruvian coast has been, geologically speaking, recently upheaved
from the sea. It is a narrow strip of land, averaging a breadth of from
ten to forty miles, confined on one side by the ocean, on the other by
the magnificent Andes, which rise abruptly from the plains. The whole of
this region consists of sandy desert, intersected by ranges of rocky
hills, except where a stream flows down from the mountains to the sea,
and forms an oasis of verdure and fertility. These pleasant valleys are
in some parts of the coast of frequent occurrence, and are only
separated by narrow strips of sand; while in others the trackless
deserts extend for nearly a hundred miles without a break. It scarcely
ever rains on the Peruvian coast, but a heavy dew, during part of the
year, falls on the valleys.
The most ancient traces of the American race have been found on the
Pacific coast, in the shape of _middings_ or refuse heaps, similar to
those in Denmark. These _middings_, which have been examined by Mr.
Spruce at Chanduy and Amotape, consist of fragments of pottery, sea
shells, and crystal quartz cutting instruments.[74] They are the
remains of a very ancient people of what is called, in European
archæology, the stone age; and they suggest the possible existence of
man in South America, contemporaneously with the post-pleistocene fossil
vicuña of Corocoro. Be this how it may, there can be no doubt that the
coast valleys of Peru had been inhabited for many centuries by Indian
communities, which had made gradual progress in the improvement of their
condition. Every part of these valleys, which could be reached by
irrigation, was very fertile. Where irrigation ceased the desert
commenced. The irrigated parts contained fields of cotton, of yucas, of
maize, of aji pepper, of sweet potatoes, and of gourds; which were
shaded by fruit trees festooned with passion flowers,[75] and by groves
of algoroba (_Prosopis horrida_), of a sort of willow, and of the
beautiful _suchi_ (_Plumieria_). The most important traces of ancient
civilisation are met with in the most extensive valleys, where the
population was denser than in the smaller and more isolated oases.
The ancient works of irrigation in these valleys, now in ruins, excite
the admiration of civil engineers who come to Peru to draw up schemes
for imitating them.[76] Every square foot of land was under cultivation,
none was wasted even for the sites of villages and temples, which were
always built on the verge of the desert, or on the rocky spurs of the
maritime cordillera, overlooking the algoroba woods, the groves of
fruit trees, and the rising crops.[77] The fields were carefully
manured, as well as watered by means of irrigating channels. In the
valley of the Chilca they raised crops of Indian corn by putting two
sardine heads into each hole with the grain, and thus the fish served
for manuring the crops as well as for food.[78] The guano on the islands
off the coast was also utilised as manure.[79] The houses were built of
huge _adobes_, or bricks baked in the sun, with flat roofs of reed,
plastered with mud; and the people were clothed in cotton dresses, which
were very skilfully woven.[80] Their pottery was quite equal to that of
the Quichuas, but at the same time clearly original in design; the
vessels being made to imitate shells, fruit, fish, and other objects,
which were familiar to the natives of the coast.
The great ruins at Caxamarquilla, at Pachacamac,[81] and of the Gran
Chimu near Truxillo,[82] still afford evidence of the civilisation of
the Yunca Indians, and of the wealth and power of their chiefs. The
people were warlike, and the tribe inhabiting the Chincha valley is even
said to have made incursions far into the heart of the Andes.[83] In the
valley of the Rimac there are mounds or artificial hills of immense
size, which appear to have been intended to afford protection against
their enemies to the feudal lords; and to serve as a place of retreat
for their retainers. A collection of ruins is almost always found at
their feet, which formed the village of the tribe. Cieza de Leon gives a
detailed account of the manners and customs of these Yunca chiefs, and
of their subjects.[84] Nearly every valley had its independent chief and
separate tribe; although some of the more powerful chiefs, such as the
Grand Chimu, the Chuqui-mancu of the Rimac, and the Lord of Chincha, had
extended their dominion over several valleys. The language of the coast
was quite distinct from Quichua.[85]
In many parts of the coast the aboriginal Indians have been exterminated
by Spanish cruelty, in others they have disappeared through frequent
crosses with negroes, in others they have entirely lost, with their
native language, all traces of the distinctive character which once
marked their ancestors. It is exceedingly important, therefore, to
obtain authentic information concerning any of the coast tribes which
have retained their language and national characteristics; and the
memoranda collected by Mr. Spruce at Piura, on this subject, which will
be found in the accompanying note, contain some particulars of great
interest.[86]
It will be natural to inquire whether a race, which had for centuries
inhabited the valleys on the Pacific coast, had habitually navigated the
ocean which was always in sight; and we find that they occasionally did
venture to sea for fish, and that they undertook coasting voyages. The
crooked algorobas, the willows, and fruit trees, afforded no suitable
timber for boat-building; but the Yuncas supplied the place of timber by
going afloat on inflated sealskins.[87] In this way they passed to and
fro from the shore to the Guano islands, and, according to Acosta, they
even went on long voyages to the westward.[88]
The kingdom of Quito, which eventually formed the most northern province
of the empire of the Yncas, consists of a series of lofty plateaux from
which rise the towering peaks of Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, and Chanduy;
while both to the east and west a rich tropical vegetation fills the
ravines which gradually subside on one side into the valley of the
Amazon, and on the other into the Pacific coast. This region was
inhabited by several aboriginal tribes, the most important of which were
the CAÑARIS, the PURUAES, and the CARAS. Velasco relates that the Caras,
after having been settled for about two hundred years on the coast of
Esmeraldas, marched up the Andes and established themselves at Quito,
where they were ruled by a succession of sovereigns called _Scyris_,
until the country was conquered by the Yncas. These Caras are said to
have been little advanced in architecture, but to have been dexterous in
weaving fabrics of cotton and llama wool, and to have excelled as
lapidaries. A great emerald in the head-dress was the distinguishing
mark of the reigning Scyri.
But all this information respecting the early inhabitants of Quito, and
more of the same sort, is derived from Velasco, who wrote only in the
end of the last century. In truth, there are scarcely any reliable facts
in the history of the people of Quito, previous to their subjugation by
the Yncas, and all the remains of roads and buildings confessedly date
from the times of Ynca domination.[89] Cieza de Leon gives some account
of the inhabitants of the Quitenian Andes.[90]
The principal aboriginal nations which inhabited the great empire of the
Yncas have now been passed in review. In the temperate valleys of
central Peru were the QUICHUAS, the most powerful and civilised of all.
To the eastward of them were the savage ANTIS and CHUNCHOS in the great
tropical forests. To the south were the wild shepherd tribes of CANAS,
CANCHES, and others; and still further south were the more civilised
AYMARAS, struggling against the difficulties of a rigorous climate. To
the westward of Cuzco were the warlike CHANCAS, POCRAS, HUANCAS, and
other tribes; and on the coast were numerous tribes known to the Yncas
by the collective name of YUNCAS. Finally, in the kingdom of Quito,
among others of less note, were the nations of CARAS, PURUAES, and
CAÑARIS.
About three centuries before the arrival of Pizarro in Peru, the
civilised and populous nation of Quichuas, feeling their superiority,
began to make permanent and rapid conquests over the surrounding tribes
in every direction. The date of the first commencement of these
conquests cannot now be ascertained. Many centuries must have elapsed,
and a long succession of Yncas must have reigned at Cuzco before an
aggressive policy became the leading feature of their government; and
there can be little doubt that their civilisation was indigenous, and
not derived from any foreign source. The traditional Manco Ccapac may or
may not have been the first Ynca, but there is no good reason for
supposing that he was a foreigner; and I am decidedly of opinion that
the Quichua civilisation is more likely to have required a period
represented by the hundred Yncas of Montesinos, than by the dozen of
Garcilasso de la Vega, for its full development.[91] But all the early
traditions are probably fictitious, and the first really historical
personage we meet with is the great conqueror Huiraccocha Ynca. This
prince is frequently mentioned by Cieza de Leon,[92] and from his time
the narrative of Ynca rule is clear and I think trustworthy. It was
gathered, by our author and others, from the mouths of the old Ynca
statesmen and generals, who told what they had themselves seen, and what
they had heard from their sires and grandsires. It would appear,
however, that, even before the time of Huiraccocha, the Quichuas had
already extended their sway into some of the tropical valleys inhabited
by the Antis and Chunchos, had subjugated the Canas and Canches, and,
taking advantage of the civil wars of the Aymaras, had annexed the wide
plains of the Collao and of Charcas, and the campiña of Arequipa.
The reigns of the last five Yncas were very long, and when the mummy of
Huira-ccocha was discovered by the Corregidor Ondegardo,[93] it was
found to be that of a very old man. We are justified, therefore, in
placing his reign in the end of the thirteenth and beginning of the
fourteenth century, contemporary with Edward I. of England.
Huira-ccocha organised an army, and, after having defeated the united
forces of the Chancas, Pocras and Huancas, in the great battle of
Yahuar-pampa, annexed the whole of the central part of the Peruvian
Andes to his dominions.[94] The generals of his son and successor
Pachacutec conquered the rich valleys of Xauxa and Caxamarca,[95] and
the coast districts inhabited by the Yuncas.[96] Pachacutec’s son, the
Ynca Yupanqui, made extensive conquests in the rich forest-covered
tropical plains to the eastward of Cuzco, which were completed by his
son Tupac Ynca Yupanqui.[97] The latter monarch extended his dominions
as far as Tucuman and Chile on the south, and to the extreme limit of
the kingdom of Quito on the north. Lastly, the famous Huayna Ccapac,
during a long reign, consolidated and brought into subjection this vast
empire.[98]
These conquests, extending over a period of about two centuries and a
half or more, were not achieved without much hard fighting and stubborn
resistance on the part of the invaded nations. This was especially the
case with the Yuncas of the Pacific coast. The Yncas, however, succeeded
in permanently establishing their power more by conciliation than by
force of arms; and though their disciplined troops, wielding
battle-axes, clubs and spears,[99] did good execution on the day of
battle; yet the liberal treatment of the vanquished, and their
experience of the benefits of Ynca rule, were far more efficacious
agents in giving security to the new government.[100] At the same time,
in cases of treachery or revolt, the Yncas were capable of terrible
severity, as in the case of the slaughter at Yahuar-ccocha, described by
Cieza de Leon, which was perpetrated under orders from Huayna
Ccapac.[101]
During this period of conquest the Quichuas probably made more rapid
progress in civilisation than they had done during many previous
centuries. By becoming the dominant race over a vast region, their views
became enlarged, their wants increased, and they learnt many things
from communication with their conquered neighbours. Instead of being
confined to the products of their native valleys, the Quichuas now
obtained gold[102] and their beloved coca leaf[103] from the eastern
forests; increased supplies of silver and copper from the country of the
Aymaras; emeralds from Quito; fish from the Pacific Ocean; aji pepper,
cotton fabrics, and an improved system of irrigation from the coast
valleys. They also learnt from the vanquished the use of many medicinal
herbs and vegetable dyes.
They had become an imperial race, and Cuzco was henceforward an imperial
city,[104] to which the chiefs and retainers of a hundred tribes, all
distinguished by peculiar head-dresses,[105] flocked to do homage to
their common sovereign. Then it was that great palaces were erected.
Then the famous fortress, with its Cyclopean stones, rose on the
Sacsahuaman hill.[106] Then the Ccuri-cancha blazed forth in its almost
fabulous splendour.[107] In short, all the works of the Yncas of
imperial magnificence or importance date from this period of busy
conquest, and some of them, such as the fortress of Ollantay-tambo, were
in course of construction when the Spaniards arrived, and they remain
unfinished. At this time, too, those wonderful lines of road were
constructed, running from Cuzco east, west, north, and south, overcoming
every natural obstacle, and affording the means of rapid communication
from the capital to the extreme frontiers of the empire.[108] There were
_tampus_ or lodgings at short intervals, and public buildings for
officials, for storing tribute, and for collecting necessaries for an
army, were erected in almost every valley along the line of the roads.
The organisation of every branch of the government of this great empire
displays extraordinary administrative ability on the part of the Yncas.
Perhaps their most remarkable institution was the system of _mitimaes_
or colonists, which is fully explained by Cieza de Leon.[109] Combined
with their policy of superseding all local idioms by the rich and
cultivated Quichua,[110] this system of _mitimaes_ would soon have
cemented the numerous conquered nations and tribes into one people,
speaking one language.
If good government consists in promoting the happiness and comfort of a
people, and in securing them from oppression; if a civilising government
is one which brings the means of communication and of irrigating land to
the highest possible state of efficiency, and makes steady advances in
all the arts,--then the government of the Yncas may fairly lay claim to
those titles. The roads, irrigating channels, and other public works of
the Yncas were superior to anything of the kind that then existed in
Europe. Their architecture is grand and imposing. Their pottery and
ornamental work is little inferior to that of Greeks and Etruscans. They
were skilled workers in gold, silver, copper, bronze, and stone. Their
language was rich, polished, and elegant. Their laws showed an earnest
solicitude for the welfare of those who were to live under them. Above
all, their enlightened toleration, for the existence of which there are
the clearest proofs, is a feature in their rule which, in one point of
view at least, and that a most important one, raises them above their
contemporaries in every part of the world.[111]
Cieza de Leon bears testimony to the excellence of the government of the
Yncas. The intelligent young soldier seems to have been astonished at
the order and regularity, the beneficence and forethought which
prevailed in the government of that empire which had just been shattered
by his cruel countrymen. He says that the Yncas ruled with such wisdom
that few in the world ever excelled them;[112] and, in another place, he
comes to the conclusion that “if the ancient polity had been preserved,
it would not have failed to bring the Indians nearer to the way of good
living and conversation; for few nations in the world have had a better
government than the Yncas.”[113]
But our author came to Peru fifteen years after the seizure of Atahualpa
by Pizarro, and, short as the interval was, a terrible devastation had
spread over the length and breadth of the land. Over and over again
Cieza de Leon mentions the destruction of the people. In every valley he
entered, they had been killed by the Spaniards by thousands, and their
buildings reduced to ruins.[114] In many districts the whole population
had been exterminated. In one place he says--“Nearly all these valleys
are now almost deserted, having once been so densely peopled, as is well
known to many persons.” He heard of misery and cruelty in every part of
the land. He saw the palaces and store houses of the Yncas in ruins, the
flocks slaughtered, the grand roads destroyed, and the posts for
pointing the way in the deserts used for fire wood.[115] His barbarian
countrymen pulled down the great works of irrigation,[116] and turned
thousands of acres of fertile land into desert.
These sights excited the indignation of the humane and observant man at
arms, who in this, as in many other respects, proved his superiority of
head and heart over his brutal companions. Cieza de Leon felt warmly for
the wrongs of the Indians, and devotes a chapter to show how God
chastises those who are cruel to them.[117] But he was so steeped in the
superstition of his age and country that all the simple rites of the
Indians appeared to him to be the work of the devil, and in every
harmless ceremony he saw the cloven feet. He tells us that the old men
of every tribe in the Indies conversed with the enemy of mankind, and he
mocks at their burying food with their dead for the journey to the other
world, “as if hell was so very far off.”[118] The whole population of
America was destined, according to our author, to eternal torments in
the next world; yet it is unjust to blame him for asserting a belief
which is held at the present day, and by the most tolerant church in
Christendom.[119]
When uninfluenced by religious prejudices, he writes with an
impartiality which does him the highest credit. He laments over the
condition of the Indians, deplores the wanton destruction of their
public works, and condemns the barbarity of the Spaniards. His
superstitious folly is the result of his education, his merits are all
his own. In arrangement, in trustworthiness, in accuracy, and in the
value of his observations, the work of Cieza de Leon stands higher than
that of any contemporary chronicler: and these qualities in his book are
enhanced by the romantic life and noble disposition of its author. Cieza
de Leon will, I think, be found an agreeable companion over a country of
no common interest, at a most important period of its history; and so I
consign him to the favourable attention of the members of the HAKLUYT
SOCIETY.
FIRST PART
_OF THE_
CHRONICLE OF PERU:
_Which treats of the boundaries of provinces, their_
description, the founding of new cities, the rites and customs
of the Indians, and other strange things worthy to
be known.
_Written by_
PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON.
A NATIVE OF SEVILLE.
[Illustration: colophon]
IN ANTWERP,
IN THE HOUSE OF _JEAN STEELTZ_.
M.D.LIIII.
_Con privilegio._
TO THE MOST HIGH AND MOST PUISSANT LORD DON PHILIP, PRINCE OF THE
SPAINS, OUR LORD.
_Most high and most puissant Lord_,--
_As not only the notable deeds of many very brave men, but also numerous
events worthy of perpetual memory in different provinces, have remained
in the shades of oblivion for want of writers who will record them, and
of historians who will narrate them; I, therefore, having crossed over
to the New World, where I have passed the greater part of my time
serving your Majesty in wars and discoveries, in which service I have
always taken much delight, have determined to undertake the history of
the events in the great and memorable kingdom of Peru. I went to it by
land from the province of Carthagena, where, and in the province of
Popayan, I was for many years. After I had been in your Majesty’s
service in that last war, which ended in the overthrow of the rebels and
tyrants, I thought over the great wealth of Peru, the wonderful things
in its provinces, the stirring events of its early history and of more
recent times, and how much there was both in the one and the other
period which was worthy of note. Then it was that I resolved to take up
my pen and accomplish the desire I had conceived to perform a signal
service for your Highness, holding it to be certain that your Highness
would receive it without noticing the weakness of my powers, but rather
judging my intention, and, in your royal clemency, receiving the will
with which I offer this book to your Highness. It treats of that great
kingdom of Peru of which God has made you Lord. I do not fail to
consider, O most serene and gracious Lord, that to describe the
wonderful things of this great kingdom of Peru would require one who
could write like Titus Livius, or Valerius, or some other of the great
writers that have appeared in the world, and that even they would find
some difficulty in the task. For who can enumerate the mighty things of
Peru? the lofty mountains and profound valleys over which we went
conquering and discovering? the numerous rivers of such size and depth?
the variety of provinces, with so many different things in each? the
tribes, with all their strange customs, rites, and ceremonies? so many
birds, animals, trees, fishes, all unknown? Besides all these things,
who can worthily describe the unheard-of labours which a handful of
Spaniards passed through in this vast country? Who can imagine the
events of those wars and discoveries, extending over sixteen hundred
leagues of country? the hunger, thirst, death, terrors, and fatigue
which were suffered? Concerning all these things there is so much to
relate, that any writer would be tired out in writing it. For this
cause, most puissant Lord, I have collected the most important events
which I myself saw or heard, into this history. I have not the audacity
to place it before the judgment of an unkind world, but I entertain the
hope that your Highness will protect and defend it as a thing belonging
to yourself, so that I may freely dare to walk under your protection.
For many writers, fearing the same thing, have sought for Princes of
great note to whom they might dedicate their works, and some of these
works have never been read by any one, being so fantastic and absurd.
But what I have written here is concerning true and important things,
both pleasant and useful, which have happened in our time; and I
dedicate my work to the greatest and most powerful Prince in the world,
who is your Highness. The attempt savours of temerity in so unlearned a
man, but others of more learning are too much occupied in the wars to
write. Oftentimes, when the other soldiers were reposing, I was tiring
myself by writing. Neither fatigue nor the ruggedness of the country,
nor the mountains and rivers, nor intolerable hunger and suffering, have
ever been sufficient to obstruct my two duties, namely, writing and
following my flag and my captain without fault. Having written this work
under such difficulties, and it being dedicated to your Highness, it
seems to me that my readers ought to pardon any faults which, in their
judgments, they may find in it. If they refuse to pardon these faults,
it must suffice for me that I have written the truth, for this is what I
have most carefully sought after. Much that I have written I saw with my
own eyes, and I travelled over many countries in order to learn more
concerning them. Those things which I did not see, I took great pains to
inform myself of, from persons of
good repute, both Christians and Indians. I pray to Almighty
God that, as He was served by giving to your Highness
so great and rich a kingdom as Peru, He will
leave you to live and reign for many
happy years, with increase of
many other kingdoms
and lordships._
PROLOGUE
BY THE
AUTHOR,
IN WHICH HE ANNOUNCES THE INTENTION OF THE WORK, AND ITS DIVISIONS.
I set out from Spain, where I was born and bred, at such a tender age
that I was scarcely thirteen complete years old when I sailed; and I
spent more than seventeen years in the Indies, many of them in the
discovery and conquest of new provinces, others in new settlements, and
in travelling over different countries. As I noted the many great and
strange things that are to be seen in this new world of the Indies,
there came upon me a strong desire to write an account of some of them,
as well those which I had seen with my own eyes as those which I had
heard of from persons of good repute. But when I considered my small
stock of learning I put aside my desire, holding it to be a vain thing;
for I remembered that it was for learned doctors to write histories,
throwing light upon them by their learning and judgment, while those who
are not learned would be presumptuous even if they thought of writing.
I, therefore, passed some time without giving heed to my former
intentions. At last the Almighty God, who can do anything, favoured me
with His divine grace, and awoke in me the memory of what I had before
forgotten. Taking heart, I then determined to spend some part of my life
in writing history, to which resolution I was moved by the following
considerations.
The first was, that in all parts where I had been, no one was engaged
in writing anything concerning what had occurred; and time destroys the
memory of events in such sort that soon there is no knowledge of what
has passed.
The next was, that both ourselves and these Indians draw our origin from
our ancestors Adam and Eve, and that the Son of God descended from the
heaven to the earth for all men, and, clothed in our humanity, received
a cruel death on the cross to redeem us and free us from the power of
the devil, which devil had, for so long a time, held these people
captive by God’s permission; and that it was right that the world should
know in what manner so great a multitude of tribes, as there is in these
Indies, was brought into the bosom of the holy mother church by the
exertions of Spaniards. These exertions were such that no other nation
in the world could have endured them. Thus God chose us for so great a
work, before any other nation.
Another consideration was, that in future times it ought to be known how
greatly the royal crown of Castille was enlarged, and how, when the
invincible Emperor was our King and Lord, the rich and abundant kingdoms
of New Spain and Peru were settled, and other islands and vast provinces
were discovered.
I beseech all learned and benevolent men to look upon my work with
justice, for they know that the malice and murmuring of the ignorant and
stupid are such that they never fail to find fault. Thus it is that
many, fearing the rabid envy of these scorpions, consider it better to
be called cowards than to allow their works to see the light.
But I will not desist from my intention, valuing more the favour of the
few and learned, than caring for the evil which the many foolish readers
may bring upon me.
I also wrote this work that those, who learn from it the great services
which many noble knights and youths have done for the royal crown of
Spain, may be led to emulate their examples; and, at the same time, by
noting how others committed treasons, robberies, and other evil deeds,
and suffered famous punishments for them, that they may profit by these
examples, and loyally serve their natural king and lord.
For the reasons which I have now set forth, I undertook the present
work, for the better understanding of which I have divided it into four
parts, in the following manner.
The first part treats of the division of the provinces of Peru, as well
towards the sea as inland, with the longitudes and latitudes. It
contains a description of all these provinces, an account of the new
cities founded by the Spaniards, with the names of the founders, and the
time when they were founded; an account of the ancient rites and customs
of the native Indians, and other strange things very different from
those of our country, which are worthy of note.[120]
In the second part, I shall treat of the government of the Yucas
Yupanquis, who were the ancient kings of Peru, and of their great deeds
and policy, how many of them there were, and their names. I shall
describe the superb and magnificent temples which they built, the roads
of wonderful size which they made, and other great things that were
found in this kingdom. I shall also give an account in this book of what
the Indians say concerning the deluge, and how the Yncas magnify the
grandeur of their origin.
In the third part I shall relate the discovery and conquest of this
great kingdom of Peru, and the constancy of the Marquis Don Francisco
Pizarro; the hardships suffered by the Christians when thirteen of them
with the same Marquis (God permitting) discovered the country; how the
said Don Francisco Pizarro was nominated governor by his Majesty, and
entered Peru; and how, with one hundred and sixty Spaniards, he captured
Atahualpa. In this third part I shall also treat of the arrival of the
Adelantado Don Pedro de Alvarado, and of the agreement made between him
and the governor Don Francisco Pizarro. I shall, in like manner, give an
account of the notable things which happened in various parts of this
kingdom, of the rebellion of the Indians, and of the causes which led to
it; of the cruel and perfidious war that the same Indians waged against
the Spaniards who were in the great city of Cuzco, and of the death of
some Spanish and Indian captains. This third part will end with the
return of the Adelantado Don Diego de Almagro from Chile, and his entry
into the city of Cuzco by force of arms, the captain Hernando Pizarro,
Knight of the order of Santiago, being there as chief justice.
The fourth part is more important than the three which precede it. It
will be divided into five books, and will be entitled “The Civil Wars of
Peru:” in which will be related stranger things than ever passed before
in any other part of the world, among so small a number of people of the
same nation.
The first book of these civil wars treats of the war of Las Salinas, and
gives an account of the imprisonment of the captain Don Hernando Pizarro
by the Adelantado Don Diego de Almagro; it relates how the city of Cuzco
was made to receive Almagro as governor, and the causes of the war
between the governors Pizarro and Almagro. It describes the treaties and
interviews between them until the dispute was placed in the hands of an
umpire, the oaths they each took, and the commissions and letters they
each had received from his Majesty; the sentence that was given, the
return of the Adelantado to Cuzco, and how, with great fury and enmity,
he fought the battle of Las Salinas, which is half a league from Cuzco.
It relates also the march of the captain Lorenzo de Aldana to the
provinces of Quito and Popayan, and the discoveries of the captains
Gonzalo Pizarro, Pedro de Candia, Alonzo de Alvarado, and others. I
conclude with the return of Hernando Pizarro to Spain.
The second book is called “The War of Chupas.” It will treat of several
discoveries and conquests; of the conspiracy of the men of Chile in the
City of the Kings to kill the Marquis Don Francisco Pizarro, and of his
death. It will then relate how Don Diego de Almagro, son of the
Adelantado, was received as governor by the greater part of the kingdom;
how the captain Alonzo de Alvarado, who was captain and chief justice of
his Majesty for the Marquis Pizarro in Chachapoyas, rose against him,
and how Pero Alvarez, Holguin, Gomez de Tordoya, and others, did the
same in Cuzco; how the licentiate Christoval Vaca de Castro arrived
from Spain as governor, and how there was discord among the men of
Chile. I shall relate how, after some of the captains had killed each
other, the cruel battle of Chupas was fought near Guamanga, and how the
governor Vaca de Castro went to Cuzco and cut off the head of the youth
Don Diego. This will conclude the second book.
The third book will be entitled “The Civil War of Quito.” The writing of
it will be very difficult, and it will treat of various important
events. There will be an account of how the new laws were promulgated in
Spain, and of the consequent meetings and consultations in Peru, until
Gonzalo Pizarro was received in the city of Cuzco as procurator and
captain general. It will relate what occurred in the City of the Kings
until the viceroy was seized by the judges and sent to sea; the entry of
Gonzalo Pizarro into the city, where he was received as governor; his
chase of the viceroy; and how the viceroy was conquered and killed on
the plain of Añaquito. I shall also give an account, in this book, of
the events which took place in Cuzco, in Charcas, and in other parts; of
the rising of Diego Centeno on the part of the king and of Alonzo de
Toro and Francisco de Carbajal on the part of Gonzalo Pizarro, until
that constant worthy, Diego Centeno, was constrained to hide in secret
places, and his master of the camp, Lope de Mendoza, was killed; also of
what passed between the captains Pedro de Hinojosa, Juan de Yllanes,
Melchior Verdugo, and the others who were in Tierra Firme; and of how
the Adelantado Belalcazar put the marshal Don Jorge Robledo to death in
the village of Pozo. I shall then recount how the Emperor our Lord, in
his great clemency and kindness, sent out a pardon to all who should
submit and enter his royal service; how the licentiate Pedro de la Gasca
was appointed president, and how he arrived in Tierra Firme; the policy
by which he drew the captains, who were there, into the service of the
king; the return of Gonzalo Pizarro to the City of the Kings; the
cruelties which were committed there by him and his captains; how a
general assembly was convoked to determine who should go as procurators
general to Spain; and the delivery of the fleet to the president. Here I
shall conclude this book.
The fourth book will be entitled “The War of Huarina.” It will treat of
the enterprise of the captain Diego Centeno; how he entered the city of
Cuzco with the few men whom he had been able to induce to join him; how
Lorenzo de Aldana sailed from Panama and arrived at the City of the
Kings; and how many captains left Gonzalo Pizarro, and passed over to
the service of the king. I shall also treat of what passed between Diego
Centeno and Alonzo de Mendoza, until they gave battle to Gonzalo Pizarro
on the plain of Huarina. I shall relate how the captain Diego Centeno
was defeated, how many of his captains and followers were killed or
taken prisoners, and how Gonzalo Pizarro entered the city of Cuzco.
The fifth book, containing the war of Xaquixaguana, treats of the
arrival of the president Pedro de la Gasca in the valley of Xauxa; of
the preparations made by him when he heard that Diego Centeno was
defeated; of his march to Xaquixaguana, where Gonzalo Pizarro gave him
battle; it relates how the president and the troops of the king were
victorious; and how Gonzalo Pizarro was defeated and put to death in the
same valley; how the president arrived at Cuzco and proclaimed the
tyrants to be traitors; how he retired to a village called Huaynarima,
where he divided the greater part of the provinces of this kingdom among
persons selected by himself; and how he went thence to Lima, and
established the Royal Audience.
Having completed these books, which form the fourth part of my work, I
shall add two Commentaries. The first will treat of the events in Peru,
from the founding of the Audience to the departure of the president. The
second, will give an account of the president’s arrival in Tierra Firme;
of the murder of the Bishop of Nicaragua by the Contreras; of how the
Contreras, with tyrannical intentions, entered the city of Panama and
stole great quantities of gold and silver, of how the citizens gave them
battle outside the town, defeated and put them to death, and recovered
the treasure. I shall conclude with an account of the insurrection at
Cuzco, relating how the marshal Alonzo de Alvarado was sent by the
judges to punish the rebels, and how the illustrious and politic worthy,
Don Antonio de Mendoza, entered this kingdom as viceroy.
And if this history is not written with the elegance and learning that
science gives to letters, it will at least be truthful, and each event
will be duly noted with brevity, while evil deeds will be commented upon
with moderation.
I truly believe that others would have performed this work with more
satisfaction to the reader, being more learned than I am. But, if my
good intentions and my endeavours to do my best are considered, it is
just, at all events, that I should be favourably received. The ancient
Diodorus Siculus says in his prologue, that mankind owes a great deal to
authors, for, through their labours, the deeds of men live for many
ages; and he, therefore, calls Cicero the witness of time, the master of
life, the light of truth. What I ask, in return for my labour, is that,
although these writings may be devoid of elegance, they
may be received with favour, because they are
accompanied with truth. I submit my work
to the judgment of the learned and
virtuous; and I beg that
others will content
themselves
with
merely reading it, without attempting
to judge what they
do not understand.
THE TRAVELS OF
PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON.
CHAPTER I.
Which treats of the discovery of the Indies, of some other things which
were done when they were first discovered, and of the present state of
affairs.
Fourteen hundred and ninety-two years had passed away since the Princess
of life, the glorious virgin Mary our Lady, begot the only-begotten Son
of God, and the Catholic kings Don Fernando and Dona Isabel of glorious
memory were reigning in Spain, when the illustrious Christoval Colon set
forth with three caravels and ninety Spaniards, whom the said kings
ordered to serve under him. After sailing twelve hundred leagues to the
westward over the wide ocean, he discovered the island of Española,
where now stands the city of Santo Domingo. Then also were discovered
the islands of Cuba, and of San Juan de Puerto Rico, Yucatan, Tierra
Firme, New Spain, the provinces of Guatemala and Nicaragua, and many
other islands and kingdoms as far as Florida; and afterwards the great
kingdom of Peru, Rio de la Plata, and the strait of Magellanes. Yet so
many years had elapsed during which this vast expanse of land was
unknown in Spain, nor was there any rumour concerning it!
The judicious reader will reflect through what amount of labour, hunger,
thirst, terror, danger, and death the Spaniards must have passed in
these navigations and discoveries, and what waste of blood and lives
they must have entailed. And all was held as good service by the
Catholic kings, as well as by his royal Majesty the invincible Cæsar Don
Carlos the fifth Emperor of that name, our king and lord; because the
doctrine of Jesus Christ and the preaching of His holy gospel has thus
been extended, and our holy faith exalted. The will both of the said
Catholic kings and of his Majesty has been, and is, that great care
should be taken in the conversion of the natives of all these provinces
and kingdoms, for this was their principal aim; and that the governors,
captains, and discoverers should display their Christian zeal by such
treatment of the Indians as their religion enjoins. But notwithstanding
that this is and was the desire of his Majesty, some of the governors
and captains have basely committed many cruelties and outrages on the
Indians. In their turn the Indians, to defend themselves, rose in arms
and killed many Christians and some of the captains, which was the
reason that they suffered torments, were burnt, and put to other cruel
deaths. I hold that, as the dealings of God are always just, it must be
that his divine justice permitted that these people, so far distant from
Spain, should suffer so many evils from the Spaniards, for their sins
and for those of their ancestors, which must have been many, as they
were without faith. Nor do I affirm that all the Christians ill-treated
the Indians; for I have seen many temperate and God fearing men treat
them well, curing and bleeding them when they were ill, and performing
other charitable acts. And the goodness and mercy of God (which permits
no evil without extracting some good from it) have also secured great
blessings out of these ills, by bringing so many people to the knowledge
of our holy Catholic faith, and placing them in the road to salvation.
When his Majesty was informed of the ills which the Indians suffered, he
thought it good to appoint viceroys and audiences, with presidents and
judges for their better government; and thus the sufferings of the
Indians have ceased, and no Spaniards, of what rank soever, can oppress
them now. Besides the bishops, monks, seculars, and friars who went with
the Spaniards, there were a sufficient number provided to teach the
doctrine of the holy faith to the Indians and to administer the
sacraments to them. In the audiences there are learned men of great
piety, who punish those Spaniards that oppress the Indians in any way;
so that now there is no one who can ill-treat them, and, in the greater
part of these kingdoms, they are as much masters of their own estates
and persons as are the Spaniards themselves. Each village is moderately
assessed with the amount to be paid as tribute. I remember that, when I
was in the province of Xauxa a few years ago, the Indians said to me
with much satisfaction: “This is a happy time, like the days of Tupac
Ynca Yupanqui;” a king of ancient times, whose memory they hold in great
veneration. Certain of this, we Christians ought to rejoice and give
thanks to our Lord God that, in so great a country, so distant from our
Spain and from all Europe, there is such justice and such good
government, with churches and houses for prayer in all parts, where
Almighty God is praised and worshipped; and the devil abused and defied,
while the places which had been set apart for his glorification, are
pulled down, and crosses, the signs of our salvation, raised in their
stead. The idols and images were broken, and the devils fled away with
fear and trembling. The holy gospel is preached, and spreads powerfully
from east to west, and from north to south, that all nations may know
and worship our Lord God.
CHAPTER II.
Of the city of Panama, and of its founding, and why it is treated of
first, before other matters.
Before I begin to treat of the affairs of the kingdom of Peru, I desire
to give some account of what is known of the origin of these races of
the Indies or New World, especially of the natives of Peru, according to
what they say that they heard from their old men, although this is a
secret which God alone can certainly know. But as my principal intention
is, in this first part, to describe the land of Peru, and to relate the
events connected with the foundation of its cities, I will leave the
account of the origin of the people (that is, what they themselves say
respecting their origin, and what we may conjecture) until I come to the
second part, where this portion of the subject will be fully treated of.
In the present part, as I have said, I shall treat of the foundation of
many cities; and I consider that if, in times past, Dido, in founding
Carthage, perpetuated her name, and Romulus gave his name to Rome, and
Alexander to Alexandria, with how much more reason should the fame and
glory of his Majesty be perpetuated in future ages; for in this great
kingdom of Peru many great and rich cities have been founded in his
royal name, to which his Majesty has given laws, and he has enabled the
people to live quietly and peacefully. But, without counting these
cities in Peru, the city of Panama was founded in the province of Tierra
Firme, called Castilla del Oro, and I shall commence with it, although
there are others in this kingdom of more importance. My reason for
beginning with Panama is, that the captains who set forth to discover
Peru started from that city. Thence I shall go to the port of Uraba,
which is in the province of Carthagena, not very far from the great
river of Darien; and I shall then give an account of the Indian
villages, and of the Spanish settlements from this place to the town of
Plata, and establishment of Potosi on the southern boundary of Peru, a
distance of, I should say, more than twelve hundred leagues of road,
which I travelled over by land, and saw, examined, and knew the things
which I describe in this history. And I noted everything with much care
and diligence, in order that I might be able to write with that truth
which is due from me, and without any mixture of inaccuracies.
I say, then, that the city of Panama is built near the South Sea, and
eighteen leagues from Nombre de Dios, which is near the North Sea.[121]
It is of small extent, by reason of a lake which confines it on one
side, and the city is considered unhealthy on account of the evil
vapours which rise from this lake. It is built with the streets running
due east and west; so that when the sun rises no one can walk in any of
the streets, because there is no shade whatever; and this is felt very
much as the heat is intense; and the sun is so prejudicial to health,
that if a man is exposed to its rays even for a few hours he will be
attacked with a fatal illness, and this has happened to many. Half a
league from the sea there are good and healthy sites, where the city
might have been built at first; but as the houses have a high price, on
account of the great expense of building them, the site has not been
changed, although the inhabitants are aware of the notorious harm which
all must receive from living in so unhealthy a place. The first
conquerors are now all dead; and the present inhabitants do not expect
to remain long, only think of becoming rich, and care little for the
public good. A river flows near this city, which rises in certain hills;
and there are many others, on the banks of which the Spaniards have
their farms, where they have planted many trees from Spain, as oranges,
citrons, and figs. Besides these there are other fruits belonging to the
country, such as fragrant pines and plantains, many excellent
_guavas_,[122] _caymitos_,[123] _aguacates_,[124] and other fruits. In
the plains there are large herds of cattle, for the country is well
adapted for breeding them. The rivers contain much gold, and at the time
that the city was founded they obtained a great quantity.
Panama is well supplied with provisions, being situated between two
seas,--that is to say, the North Sea, by which the ships of Spain come
to Nombre de Dios; and the South Sea, by which ships sail from Panama to
all the ports of Peru. The country round this city yields neither wheat
nor barley; but the owners of farms raise much maize, and they bring
plenty of flour from Spain and Peru. There is much fish in all the
rivers and also in the sea, though different from those on the coast of
Spain.[125] On the sea-shore, close to the houses of the city, they find
great quantities of very small mussels (_almejas_), which they call
_chucha_; and I believe that, at the time of the first settlement, the
city remained on this site because the Spaniards felt themselves safe
from hunger on account of these mussels. In the rivers there are great
quantities of alligators, which are so large and fierce that it is
wonderful to see them. In the river of Cenu I have seen many very large
ones, and have eaten the eggs which they deposit on the shore. We found
one of these large alligators in the river which they call San Jorge,
when we went with Captain Alonzo de Caceres to discover the province of
Urute. It was so monstrously large as to measure more than twenty-five
feet in length; and when we killed it with our lances, it was a grand
thing to witness its bravery. Being very hungry we ate some of the
flesh; but it is bad, and has a disagreeable smell. These alligators
have eaten many Spaniards, horses, and Indians, when passing over the
land from one river to another.
There are few natives in the neighbourhood of Panama, for nearly all
have been destroyed by the evil treatment they received from the
Spaniards and by sickness. The city is inhabited by many merchants from
all parts, who trade here and in Nombre de Dios; for there is much
traffic, and the place might almost be compared with the city of Venice.
Very often ships come to Panama from the South Sea to discharge cargoes
of gold and silver; and the number of vessels is very great that arrive
at Nombre de Dios, bringing much merchandise, which is transported to
Panama by canoes up the river Chagres, and thence over five leagues of
road. Near the city the sea forms a large bay, and the vessels come into
the port with the tide. The anchorage is very good for small vessels.
Panama was founded by Pedrarias de Avila, who was governor of Tierra
Firme, in the name of the invincible Cæsar Don Carlos, the august King
of Spain, our lord, in the year 1520. It is in about 8° north of the
equinoctial line.[126] It has a good port, into which the vessels enter
with the ebb tide until they are high and dry. The ebb and flow of this
sea is great, so that the shore remains uncovered at low water for a
distance of half a league; and vessels anchored in three fathoms at low
water, are in seven fathoms when the tide comes up.[127]
In this chapter I have treated of the city of Panama. In the following I
shall describe the harbours and rivers along the coast as far as Chile,
for this plan will give much precision to the work.
CHAPTER III.
Of the ports between Panama and the land of Peru, of the distances
between them, and of their latitudes.
It is known to all the world how the Spaniards, aided by God, have
prosperously gained and made themselves masters of this new world, which
is called the Indies. These Indies include so many and such great
kingdoms and provinces, that it causes wonder even to think of them; and
their discovery and conquest have been successful, as all who live in
this age well know. I have sometimes thought that, when one people and
nation succeeds another, as time rolls on the first is forgotten; and
that the same fate may overtake us as has befallen others, which may God
forefend: but these kingdoms and provinces were discovered in the time
of the most Christian and illustrious Charles, the ever august Emperor
of the Romans, and our lord and king, who has taken and still takes so
much care for the conversion of the Indians. For this reason I believe
that Spain will ever retain these possessions, and that all who live in
them will ever acknowledge the kings of Spain as their masters.
In this chapter I desire to explain to those who may read my work the
manner of navigating by points and degrees from Panama to Peru. The time
for navigating is during the months of January, February, and March,
because in this season there are always fresh breezes from the north,
and the vessels make short passages; while during the rest of the year
the south winds prevail along the coast of Peru.[128] Thus the vessels
finish their voyages before the south winds set in. Ships can also sail
in August and September, but not with the same ease as in the season
before mentioned; for if some few vessels sail in these months, they
make very long and difficult passages. The south wind is prevalent for
a long time along this coast from Chile to near Tumbez, which is
favourable for a voyage from Peru to Tierra Firme, Nicaragua, and other
ports; but very difficult for vessels going to Peru. Sailing from
Panama, vessels first sight the islands called “of the Pearls,” which
are barely in 8°.[129] These islands consist of twenty-five or thirty,
clustering round one which is the largest of all. They were formerly
inhabited by Indian natives, but now there are none. The owners of these
islands have Negroes and Indians of Nicaragua and Cubagua, who watch the
flocks and sow the seeds, for the land is fertile. They have also
obtained a great quantity of rich pearls, whence the islands take their
name. From these islands vessels work for the point of Carachine, which
is ten leagues to the E.S.E.; and when they sight it, the land is high
and woody. It is in 8⅓°.[130] From this point the coast runs S.E.¼S. to
Puerto de Piñas for eight leagues, which is in 6¼°.[131] Here the land
is high, forest covered, and rugged. Thence the coast trends S.¼E. to
Cape Corrientes; and following the same course vessels arrive at the
island of Palms, so called from the quantities of those trees which grow
on it. It is little more than a league and a half round, it has rivers
of fresh water, and used to be inhabited. This island is twenty-five
leagues from Cape Corrientes, in 4⅓°. From this point the coast runs in
the same direction to the port of Buenaventura, which is a little more
than three leagues from the island. The entrance to the bay is in
3⅔°,[132] and close to it there is a high peaked island. The country is
covered with forests, and many great rivers, rising in the mountains,
fall into the sea, by one of which vessels approach the town and port of
Buenaventura. The pilot who may take a vessel in, should know the river
well, or he will have much trouble, as was the case with me and many
others who employed new pilots. Thence the coast runs W. ¼ S. to the
island called Gorgona, which is twenty-five leagues from this bay. This
part of the coast is low, and overrun with mangroves and other dense
bushes. Many large rivers flow into the sea, the principal one being the
river of San Juan, the banks of which are inhabited by wild people, who
build their houses on great stages raised on forked poles. These Indians
are very rich in gold, and their country, which is fertile, is traversed
by rivers washing down abundance of this metal. But it is so swampy and
full of lagoons, that it is impossible to conquer it without an
expenditure of many lives and much trouble.
The island of Gorgona is high, and it never ceases to rain and thunder
there, so that it seems as if the elements were fighting. It is two
leagues round, covered with forest, and has streams of very good water.
There are many turkeys, pheasants, cats, and great serpents, besides
night birds, on the island. It seems that it has never been inhabited.
The Marquis Don Francisco Pizarro, with thirteen Spanish Christians, his
companions, was many days on this island, and suffered much from hunger
and exposure, until at last God was well served by the discovery of the
provinces of Peru. This island of Gorgona is in 3°,[133] and thence the
coast trends W.S.W. to the island of Gallo. All this coast is low and
woody, and many rivers here fall into the sea. The island of Gallo is
small, scarcely a league round, and is in 2°[134]of the equator. Thence
the coast turns S.W. to the point of Mangroves,[135] which is a little
under eight leagues from Gallo. Thence the coast runs S.W. to the bay of
Santiago, where it forms a creek, and an anchorage called Sardinas. Here
is the mouth of the great and rapid river of Santiago, where the
government of the Marquis Don Francisco Pizarro commenced. This
roadstead is twenty-five leagues from the point of Mangroves. Here
vessels have their bows in eighty fathoms and their stems nearly
aground, and sometimes they are in ninety fathoms at one moment, and in
two at another; but these inequalities, which are caused by the fury of
the river, are not dangers, nor do they prevent vessels from going in
and out at pleasure. The coast then runs west towards the Cape of San
Francisco, which is ten leagues from the roadstead. This cape is high
land, and near it there are some brown and white ravines. It is 1° N. of
the equator.[136] Thence the coast runs S.W. to the point of Passaos,
which is on the equinoctial line.[137] Between these two points four
rivers fall into the sea, called the Quiximies,[138] which are very
large. They form a tolerable port, where vessels can take in fresh water
and firewood.
CHAPTER IV.
Describes the navigation as far as the Callao of Lima, which is the
port of the City of the Kings.
I have now described, though briefly, the way by which this South Sea is
navigated as far as the Quiximies, which is in the land of Peru. It will
now be well to continue the route until we arrive at the City of the
Kings. Leaving then the cape of Passaos, the coast trends to the S. ¼ W.
as far as Puerto Viejo, and before reaching it there is the bay of
Caraquez, which vessels enter without any danger. Its conveniences are
such that ships of even one thousand tons may be careened here, and it
is easy to enter and sail out, except that there are some rocky islands
at its mouth, but there are no obstructions beyond those which meet the
eye. Near Puerto Viejo, and two leagues inland, is the city of Santiago,
and two leagues to the south of the port there is a round hill called
Monte Cristo. This Puerto Viejo is 1° S.[139] of the equator. Five
leagues further on in the same direction is the cape of San Lorenzo, and
three leagues beyond this cape, to the south-west, is the island which
is called La Plata, a league and a half long. Here, in ancient times,
the natives of the main land held their sacrificial festivals, and
killed many lambs and sheep, and some children, whose blood was offered
to their devils and idols, figures carved in stone which were objects of
worship. The Marquis Don Francisco Pizarro, with his thirteen
companions, during their voyage of discovery, landed on this island and
found some silver and jewels, and many robes and dresses of cloth richly
embroidered. From that time to this the island has remained with the
name which it now bears. Following the coast line to the S. ¼ E. we come
next to the point of Santa Elena. Before reaching this point there are
two places, the one called Callo and the other Calango,[140] where ships
touch, and take in wood and water. The distance from the point of San
Lorenzo to that of Santa Elena is fifteen leagues. There is a creek on
the north side of the latter point, where there is good anchorage.[141]
At the distance of a cross-bow shot from the point there is a fountain
of bitumen, which appears to be natural tar. Of this, and of the wells
made by the giants on this point, I shall give an account further on,
which will be well worth hearing.[142]
From this point of Santa Elena vessels go to the river of Tumbez, a
distance of twenty-eight leagues. The river bears from the point S. ¼
E., and between them there is another great inlet. To the N.E. of the
river of Tumbez there is an island which is more than ten leagues
round, and it has been very rich and populous, so that the natives
rivalled those of Tumbez and of other parts of the main land. There were
great wars and many battles between them, so that time and the arrival
of the Spaniards have greatly diminished the number of the islanders.
The island is very fertile and well wooded. It is the property of his
Majesty. There is a rumour that a great sum of gold and silver was
buried there in ancient times. The Indians say that these islanders were
given to idolatry, and were very vicious, many of them committing the
abominable offence, and being guilty of other great sins. Near this
island of Puna there is another further out, called Santa Clara. This
island has neither inhabitants, wood, nor water; but the ancient people
of Puna had their cemeteries on it, and performed sacrifices. They have
placed on the heights, where they built their altars, great quantities
of gold, and silver, and fine ornaments dedicated to their gods. When
the Spaniards arrived, these treasures were concealed (so the Indians
say) in places where they could not be found.[143]
The river of Tumbez flows through a country which is thickly inhabited.
Near the sea there is a fortress, a very strong and handsome structure,
built by the Yncas, kings of Cuzco and lords of all Peru, in which they
had great store of treasure. There was also a temple of the Sun, and a
house of Mamacunas,[144] which means principal women of the virgins
dedicated to the service of the temple. These women lived according to
rules almost the same as those of the vestal virgins of Rome. The
edifices are now in a ruinous state, though their remains show how great
they once were. The mouth of the river of Tumbez is in 4° S.[145] Thence
the coast trends S.W. to Cape Blanco,[146] distant fifteen leagues,[147]
and then towards the island of Lobos.[148] Between Cape Blanco and the
island of Lobos there is a point called Pariña, which runs out into the
sea almost as far as the former point.[149] From point Pariña the coast
runs S.W. to Payta. From Tumbez towards the south, the coast is without
trees, and if there are any hills they are naked, and rocky. The rest of
the coast is a sandy desert, and few rivers fall into the sea. Payta is
a little more than eight leagues[150] from Cape Pariña; it is a good
port, where ships refit, in 5° S.[151] From the island of Lobos (just
mentioned) the distance to Payta will be about five leagues. Following
the coast we come to Punta del Aguja,[152] and between it and the island
there is a large inlet. This point is in 6° S. To the south of it there
are two islands called Lobos, from the great number of seals, and all
vessels can pass between them and the main land.[153] From Punta de
Aguja the coast trends S.W. to a port called Casma. The coast runs S.W.
to Malabrigo,[154] where vessels can only lie in fair weather, and ten
leagues further south is the reef of Truxillo, a bad port, with no other
shelter than the buoys of the anchors. Vessels sometimes touch here for
provisions. Two leagues inland is the city of Truxillo. From this port,
which is in 7⅔°, vessels go to the port of Guañape,[155] seven leagues
from Truxillo, in 8⅓°. More to the south is the port of Santa, where
vessels touch, and near which there is a great river with very good
water.[156] All the coast is without trees (as I said a little way
back), sandy, and broken with craggy rocks. Santa is in 9°. Five leagues
further on is Ferrol,[157] a secure port, but without fuel or water.
Another six leagues brings us to Casma, where there is a river and
plenty of wood, so that vessels can put in for supplies. It is in
10°.[158] From Casma the coast runs south to the islets of Huara, and
further on is Guarmay, where there is a river.[159] Another six leagues
takes us to Huara, where vessels can take in all the salt they require,
for there is enough to supply Italy and all Spain, and even then it
would not be exhausted.[160] Thence the coast trends south to the island
of Lima. Half way, a little nearer Lima than the islets of Huara,[161]
there is an island called Salmerina, nine or ten leagues from the land.
The island of Lima forms the shelter to Callao, which is the port of
Lima.[162] The port is very safe. Callao, which (as I have said) is the
port of the City of Kings, is in 12⅓°.[163]
CHAPTER V.
Of the ports and rivers on the coast, from the City of the Kings to the
province of Chile, and of their latitudes, with other matters connected
with the navigation of these seas.
I have myself been in most of the ports and rivers which I have now
described, and I have taken much trouble to ascertain the correctness of
what is here written, having communicated with the dexterous and expert
pilots who know the navigation of these ports, and who took the
altitudes in my presence. In this chapter I shall continue my
description of the coast, with its ports and rivers from Lima until we
arrive at the province of Chile. But I am unable to describe the coast
down to the straits of Magellan, having lost a copious narrative which I
had from a pilot who came in one of the ships sent by the Bishop of
Plazencia.
When ships sail from the port of the City of the Kings, they shape their
course south, until they reach the port of Sangalla, which is very good,
and at first it was considered certain that the City of the Kings would
have been founded near it. Sangalla is thirty-five leagues from Lima, in
barely 14° S. of the equinoctial.[164] Near this port there is an island
called Seal Island. All the coast, from this point, is low, though in
some parts there are naked chains of rocky hills, and the whole is a
sandy desert, on which it has never rained, nor does anything fall
except a thin mist; but I shall treat of this admirable secret of nature
further on.[165] Near this Seal Island there are seven or eight other
small islets, some high and others low, uninhabited, and without wood or
water, tree, shrub, or anything else, except seals and sand hills. The
Indians, according to their own account, used to go to these islands to
make sacrifices, and it is presumed that great treasure is buried on
them. They are a little more than four leagues from the coast. Further
on there is another island, also called Seal Island, from the quantity
of those animals that frequent it, which is 14⅓°.[166]
From this island vessels continue the voyage, the coast trending S.W. ¼
S., and after twelve leagues more they come to a promontory called
Nasca, which is in 15° less one quarter.[167] There is here shelter for
ships, but not for boats, as they cannot land. Further on there is
another point called San Nicolas, in 15⅓°.[168] From this point of San
Nicolas the coast turns S.W., and after twelve leagues the port of Acari
is reached, where vessels take in provisions and water, brought from a
valley which is a little more than five leagues from the port. This port
of Acari is in 16°.[169] Continuing the voyage vessels next arrive off
the river of Ocona, and further on are the rivers of Camana and Quilca.
Near the latter river there is a cove, which affords good and secure
anchorage. It is also called Quilca, and forms the port of the city of
Arequipa, which is seventeen leagues distant. This port is in 17½°.[170]
Sailing from Quilca, vessels pass some islets, where the Indians go from
the main land to fish. Three leagues further on there is another island,
very close to the shore, and the ships anchor to leeward of it, for from
this place also goods are sent to the city of Arequipa. It is twelve
leagues beyond Quilca, in 17½° or more, and is called Chuti.[171]
Further on there is a great river called Tamboballa, and ten leagues
more bring us to a point which runs out for a league into the sea, and
there are three pointed rocks near it.[172] There is a good port,
sheltered by this point, called Ylo, where a river of very good water,
having the same name as the port, falls into the sea. Ylo is in
18⅓°.[173] Thence the coast trends S.¼E., and seven leagues farther on
there is a promontory, which the mariners called the Hill of the
Devils.[174] All this coast is dangerous. Further on, about five leagues
from this point, there is a small river of good water, and ten leagues
more bring us to another high point and some ravines. Off this point
there is an islet, and near it is the port of Arica, in 29⅓°.[175] From
Arica the coast runs S.E. for nine leagues, where there is a river
called Pisagua. From this river to the port of Tarapaca the coast trends
in the same direction a distance of twenty-five leagues. Near Tarapaca
there is an island a little more than a league round and one and a half
from the shore, which forms a bay in 21°. This is the port of
Tarapaca.[176] Thence the coast trends in the same direction, and five
leagues further on there is a point called Tacama. Passing this point
vessels come to the port of Mexillones, sixteen leagues further on,
which is in 22½°.[177] The coast then trends S.S.W. for ninety leagues.
It is a straight coast, with some points and bays, and in 26° there is a
good port called Copayapo,[178] with an islet about half a league from
the shore, and here the inhabited part of the province of Chile
commences. Further on there is a point of land forming a bay, with two
rocks in it, and here a river of very good water falls into the sea,
called Huasco. The point is in 28¼°.[179] Ten leagues further on there
is another point which affords shelter for ships, but here there is
neither wood nor water. Near this point is the port of Coquimbo, and
between it and the point there are seven islands. This port is in
29½°.[180] Ten leagues further on another point runs out, forming a
large bay called Atongayo,[181] and five leagues beyond is the river of
Limara. From this river vessels reach a bay after sailing nine leagues,
where there is a pointed rock, and no fresh water. It is in 30°, and is
called Choape.[182] Further on, continuing the same course for
twenty-one leagues, there is a good port called Quintero, in 32°,[183]
and ten leagues more bring us to the port of Valparaiso, and the city of
Santiago, which is what we call Chile, in 32⅔°.[184] Continuing the
voyage we next come to another port called Topocalma, in 34°,[185] and
twelve leagues further on is the river of Maule. Fourteen leagues
further on there is another river called Ytata, and twenty-four leagues
more bring us to a river called Biobio, in 38° nearly.[186] In the same
direction, after sailing fifteen leagues more, we come to a large island
five leagues from the shore, which is said to be inhabited. It is called
Luchengo.[187] Beyond this island there is a bay called Valdivia, where
there is a great river, the name of which is Ayniledos. The bay of
Valdivia is in 39⅔°.[188] To the S.S.W. of the port is the Cape of Santa
Maria in 42⅓° S. This is as far as the coast has been examined and
described. The pilots say that it then turns S.E. to the straits of
Magellan. One of the ships which sailed from Spain, belonging to the
expedition of the Bishop of Palencia, passed through the straits of
Magellan, and reached the port of Quilca, which is near Arequipa, whence
she went on to Lima and Panama. She brought a good account of the
latitude of the strait, and of what happened during the very difficult
voyage; but I do not insert that narrative here, because, at the time
when we gave battle to Gonzalo Pizarro in the valley of Xaquixaguana,
five leagues from the city of Cuzco, I had several of my papers and
journals stolen, and this among the number, which I regret very much. I
should have wished to conclude my account of the coast with this
narrative. Receive, therefore, my desire to give this further
information; for I have taken no little trouble to ascertain the truth,
and I have examined the new charts made by the pilots who discovered
this sea.[189]
Here I must conclude the portion of my work which treats of the
navigation of this South Sea. I shall now proceed to give an account of
the provinces and nations from the port of Uraba to the city of Plata,
which is a distance of more than 1200 leagues, and I shall describe the
government of Popayan and the kingdom of Peru.
I shall commence, then, with the port of Uraba, and pass thence to the
city of Antiochia and to other parts, as will appear presently.
CHAPTER VI.
How the city of San Sebastian was founded in the bay of Uraba;[190] and
of the native Indians in that neighbourhood.
In the year 1509, when Alonzo de Ojeda and Nicuesa were governors of
Tierra Firme, a town was founded in the province of Darien, and was
named Nuestra Señora del Antigua. Some of the Spaniards, who were among
the early discoverers, declare that they found the flower of the chiefs
of the Indians in these parts. At that time, although the province of
Carthagena was discovered, it was not settled, nor had the Christians
done more than trade with the Indians, obtaining a quantity of fine gold
by exchanges. The Governor Ojeda marched to the great town of Turbaco,
four leagues from Carthagena (which was formerly called Calamar), where
he fought a great battle with the Indians. Many Christians were killed,
and among them the captain Juan de la Cosa, a valiant and resolute man.
In order that his body might not fall into the hands of the Indians, the
Spaniards retreated to their ships. After this event the Governor Ojeda
founded a town of Christians in the country called Uraba, and appointed
as his captain and lieutenant there, Francisco Pizarro, who was
afterwards governor and marquis. In this city or town of Uraba, this
captain Francisco Pizarro, suffered from hunger and sickness, and from
the attacks of the Indians of Uraba. These Indians (as it is said) were
not natives of this province, their ancient home having been in the
country which borders on the great river of Darien.[191] Desiring to
escape from subjection to the yoke of the Spaniards who treated them so
ill, they left their homes with their arms, taking their women and
children with them. Having arrived at Uraba, they attacked the natives
with great cruelty, killed them all, and made themselves masters of
their land.
When the governor Ojeda heard of this he entertained hopes of finding
great riches in that country, and sent his lieutenant Francisco Pizarro
to form a settlement there, who was the first Christian to enter this
land. Afterwards these governors Ojeda and Nicuesa came to a disastrous
end, as is well known among those of that time who still survive, and
Pedrarias came as governor of Tierra Firme, but though there were 2000
Spaniards in the city of Antigua, none of them settled in Uraba.[192]
Time passed on, the governor Pedrarias cut off the head of his
son-in-law Yasco Nuñez de Balboa,[193] and of Captain Francisco
Hernandez in Nicaragua, and the Indians of the river Cenu killed the
captain Bezerra and the Christians who were with him. At last, Don Pedro
de Heredia came out as governor of Carthagena, and sent his brother the
captain Alonzo de Heredia with a party of Spaniards to settle in Uraba
for a second time, calling the city San Sebastian de Buena Vista.[194]
This city is situated on some small hills clear of trees, and there is
no thicket near them, except in the marshy ground and on the banks of
the rivers. But the province is covered with dense forest in many parts,
and the plains are full of very large palm trees with thick bark, and
bearing large _palmitos_, which are white and very sweet. When the
Spaniards explored this country, in the time when Alonzo Lopez de Ayala
was lieutenant to the governor of this city, they ate nothing for many
days except these _palmitos_. The wood is so hard and difficult to cut,
that it took a man half a day before he could cut a tree down and get
the _palmitos_, which they ate without bread, and drank much water, so
that many Spaniards died. Near the town, and on the banks of the river,
there are many gardens of orange-trees, plaintains, and guavas. There
are many rivers in the province, which rise in the mountains. In the
interior there are some Indians and caciques, who used to be very rich
by reason of their trade with those who lived in the plains beyond the
mountains, and in the country of Dobaybe. These Indians, who were
masters of this region, originally came, as I have before said, from the
other side of the great river of Darien. The lords or caciques are
obeyed and feared by the Indians, and their women are the prettiest and
most loveable of any that I have seen in the Indies. They are clean in
their eating, and have none of the dirty habits of other nations. These
Indians have small villages, and their houses are like long sheds. They
sleep in hammocks and use no other sort of bed. Their land is fertile
and abundantly supplied with provisions, such as well tasted roots.
There are also herds of small pigs which are good eating, and many great
tapirs, said by some to be of the shape and form of zebras; abundance of
turkeys and other birds, plenty of fish in the rivers, and tigers, which
kill the Indians and commit havoc amongst their beasts. There are also
very large serpents and other creatures in the dense forests, the names
of which we know not. Among them are the creatures which we call
_Pericos ligeros_,[195] and it is a marvel to see their fierce looks,
and the torpid lazy way in which they move along.
When the Spaniards occupied the villages of these Indians, they found a
great quantity of gold in some small baskets, in the form of rich
ornaments. There were also many other ornaments and chains of fine gold,
and much cotton cloth. The women wore mantles, which covered them from
the waist to the feet, and other mantles over their bosoms. They are
very pretty, and always go about decently dressed and combed. The men go
naked and barefooted, without other covering than what nature has given
them; but they have shells or other ornaments, either of bone or of very
fine gold, suspended by a thread in front of their privates. Some of
these that I saw, weighed forty to fifty _pesos_ each, some more and
some less. These Indians are engaged in trade, and take pigs, which are
native, and different from those in Spain, to sell to other tribes more
inland.[196] These pigs are smaller than Spanish pigs, and they have a
navel on their backs,[197] which must be something which has grown
there. The Indians also trade with salt and fish, getting in exchange
their gold, cloth and other articles. Their arms are bows, made of the
wood of a black palm, a _braza_ long, with very long and sharp arrows,
anointed with a juice which is so evil and pestilential, that no man who
is wounded with it so as to draw blood, can live, although it should not
be as much as would flow from the prick of a pin. Thus few if any who
have been wounded with this juice, fail to die.
CHAPTER VII.
How the herb is made so poisonous, with which the Indians of Carthagena
and Santa Martha have killed so many Spaniards.
As this poisonous juice of the Indians of Carthagena and Santa Martha is
so famous, it seems well to give an account here of the way it is made,
which is as follows. This juice is composed of many things. I
investigated and became acquainted with the principal ingredients in the
province of Carthagena, in a village called Bahayre, from a cacique or
lord, whose name was Macavin. He showed me some short roots, of a yellow
colour and disagreeable smell, and told me that they were dug up on the
sea shore, near the trees which we call _mansanillos_,[198] and pieces
were cut from the roots of that pestiferous tree. They then burnt these
pieces in earthen pots, and made them into a paste. After this was done,
they sought for certain ants, as big as the beetles of Spain, which are
very black and evil, and which, by merely biting a man, cause terrible
pain. This happened when we were journeying on the expedition with the
licentiate Juan de Vadillo; for one of the soldiers was bitten by an
ant, and suffered so much pain that at last he lost all feeling, and
even had three or four bad attacks of fever, until the poison had run
its course. They also seek for certain very large spiders, and for
certain hairy worms, creatures which I shall not soon forget; for one
day, when I was guarding a river in the forests called Abibe, under the
branch of a tree, one of these worms bit me in the neck, and I passed
the most painful and wearisome night I have ever experienced in my life.
They also make the poison of the wings of a bat, and the head and tail
of a fish which is very poisonous, adding toads and the tails of
serpents, together with certain small apples, which appear in colour
and smell to be the same as those of Spain. Some of those recently
arrived in these parts, on landing, eat these apples without knowing
that they are poisonous. I knew one Juan Agraz (whom I have lately seen
in the city of San Francisco de Quito), who, when he came from Spain,
and landed on the coast of Santa Martha, ate ten or a dozen of these
apples, and I heard him swear that in colour and smell they could not be
better, except that they have a milk which becomes poison. Other roots
and herbs form ingredients of this juice, and when they want to make it,
they prepare a great fire in a place far from their houses, and take
some slave girl whom they do not value, and make her watch the pots, and
attend to the brewing of the poison; but the smell kills the person who
thus makes the juice, at least so I have heard.
CHAPTER VIII.
In which other customs of the Indians subject to the city of Uraba are
described.
With this evil juice the Indians anoint the points of their arrows, and
they are so dexterous in the use of these arrows, and draw their bows
with such force, that it has often happened that they have transfixed a
horse, or the knight who is riding, the arrow entering on one side and
coming out on the other. They wear cotton for defensive armour, the
moisture of that country not being suitable for cuirasses. However, with
all these difficulties, and in spite of the country being so forbidding,
foot soldiers have overrun it with nothing but swords and shields, and
ten or twelve Spaniards are as good as 100 or 200 Indians. These Indians
have no temples nor any form of worship, and nothing has been discovered
concerning their religion as yet, except that they certainly talk with
the devil, and do him all the honour they can, for they hold him in
great veneration. He appears to them (as I have been told by one of
themselves) in frightful and terrible visions, which cause them much
alarm. The sons inherit their fathers’ property, if they are born of the
principal wife, and they marry the daughters of their sisters. Their
chiefs have many wives. When a chief dies, all his servants and friends
assemble in his house in the night, without any light; but they have a
great quantity of their wine made from maize, which they continue
drinking while they mourn for the dead. After they have completed their
ceremonies and sorceries, they inter the body with its arms and
treasures, plenty of food, and jugs of _chicha_, together with a few
live women. The devil gives them to understand that, in the place to
which they go, they will come to life in another kingdom which he has
prepared for them, and that it is necessary to take food with them for
the journey. As if hell was so very far off!
This city of San Sebastian was founded by Alonzo de Heredia, brother of
the Adelantado Don Pedro de Heredia, governor for his majesty of the
province of Carthagena, as I have said before.
CHAPTER IX.
Of the road between the city of San Sebastian and the city of Antioquia,
and of the wild beasts, forests, rivers, and other things in the way;
and how and in what season it can be passed.
I found myself in this city of San Sebastian de Buena Vista in the year
1536, and in 1537 the licentiate Juan de Vadillo, Juez de
Residencia,[199] and at that time governor of Carthagena, set out from
it with one of the finest armies that had been seen in Tierra Firme. We
were the first Spaniards who opened a road from the North to the South
Sea. I journeyed from this town of Uraba as far as the town of Plata, at
the furthest extremity of Peru, and made a point of seeing all the
provinces on my road, that I might be better able to note down what was
worthy of remark. I will, therefore, relate from this place forward all
that I saw, without desiring to exaggerate or depreciate anything, and
of this my readers may receive my assurance.
I say, then, that on leaving San Sebastian de Buena Vista, which is the
port of Uraba, to go to the city of Antioquia, the road runs by the
coast for five leagues as far as the banks of a small river called Rio
Verde, whence the distance to the city of Antioquia is forty-eight
leagues. The whole country, from this river to certain mountains called
Abibe, of which I shall speak presently, is flat, but covered with very
dense forests, and traversed by many rivers. The district near the road
is uninhabited, as the natives have retired to a distance from it. After
reaching Rio Verde, the road keeps close to the banks of the river, the
rest of the country being very densely covered with forest; and to pass
safely, it is necessary to travel in January, February, March, or April.
After April the rains set in, and the rivers are swollen and rapid, so
that even if it is possible to pass at all, it is at the cost of much
danger and difficulty. At all times those who travel by this road must
take good guides, and must understand how to cross the rivers. In all
these forests there are great herds of pigs, sometimes more than a
thousand together, counting their young ones, and they make a great
noise, so that those who travel with good dogs will not be in want of
food. There are also great tapirs, lions, bears, and tigers. In the
trees are to be seen the most beautifully marked wild cats that can be
found in the world, and large monkeys, that make such a noise that,
from a distance, those who are new to the country would think they were
pigs. When the Spaniards pass under the trees where the monkeys are,
these creatures break off branches, and throw them down, making faces
all the time. The rivers are so full of fish that with any net a great
haul may be drawn. When we were going with the Captain Jorge Robledo
from Antioquia to Carthagena, we saw so many fish that we could kill
them with sticks. On the trees near the rivers, there is a creature
called _yguana_, which looks like a serpent, or like one of the large
lizards of Spain, except that it has a larger head and longer tail, but
in colour and shape it is exactly like. When skinned and roasted these
creatures are as good to eat as rabbits; to my mind they are even
better, especially the females, which have many eggs. But those who are
not accustomed to them would be so frightened at the sight of them, that
they would have no desire to eat them. No one can say for certain
whether they are fish or flesh, for we see them run down the trees into
the water, where they are quite at home; and they are also found in the
interior, where there are no rivers. There are other creatures called
_Hicoteas_,[200] like turtles, which are also good eating. There are
many turkeys, pheasants, and parrots of all kinds, as well as
_Guacamayas_,[201] with very bright plumage; some small eagles, pigeons,
partridges, doves, besides night-birds and other birds of prey. In these
forests there are very large snakes. I must here relate a circumstance
which I hold to be certainly true, for it is attested by many men who
are worthy of belief. It is that when the Lieutenant Juan Greciano was
travelling by this road, by order of the licentiate Santa Cruz, in
search of the licentiate Juan de Vadillo, in company with certain
Spaniards, among whom were Manuel de Peralta, Pedro de Barros, and Pedro
Ximon, they met with a snake or serpent, which was so large that it
measured more than twenty feet in length, and of great girth. Its head
was a clear red, its eyes green and protruding, and, when they saw it,
it levelled its head to strike at them, and, indeed, gave Pedro Ximon
such a blow that he died. They found an entire deer in its belly; and I
heard it said that some of the Spaniards, owing to the hunger they felt,
ate the deer and even a part of the snake. There are other snakes, not
so large as this one, which make a noise when they walk like the sound
of bells. If these snakes bite a man they kill him. The Indians say that
there are many other kinds of serpents and wild animals in these
forests, which I do not describe as I have not seen them. There are
abundance of the palm-trees of Uraba, and many wild fruits.
CHAPTER X.
Of the grandeur of the mountains of Abibe, and of the admirable and
useful timber which grows there.
Having crossed these low forest covered plains, the way leads up a broad
chain of mountains called Abibe.[202] This mountain-chain extends to the
west, over many provinces and uninhabited tracts. Its length is
uncertain, but its breadth is in some places twenty leagues: in others
much more, and in others a little less. The roads by which the Indians
crossed this wild chain of mountains (for many parts of it are
inhabited) were so bad and difficult, that horses neither can nor ever
will be able to pass over them. The Captain Francisco Cesar, was the
first Spaniard who crossed this range of mountains, and with much
trouble he came to the valley of Guaco, which is on the other side. The
roads are assuredly most difficult and wearisome, for they are full of
evil places and thickets, while the roots are such that they entangle
the feet of both men and horses. At the highest part of the mountains
there is a very laborious ascent, and a still more dangerous descent on
the other side. When we descended with the licentiate Juan de Vadillo,
there being several very steep declivities, we made a sort of wall with
ropes and stakes filled in with earth, so that the horses might be able
to pass without danger, and although this contrivance was of some use,
yet many horses fell over and were dashed to pieces. Even among the
Spaniards some were killed, and others were so much injured that they
were unable longer to proceed, and remained in the forests, awaiting
their deaths in great misery concealed by the brushwood, so that those
who remained whole might not see them and carry them forward. Some of
the horses, too, were so much exhausted that
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