A son of the cacique Guainacaba[68]visits them; they agree upon friendship with him, and he tells them of the movements of the army of hostile Indians with which they have some encounters before entering Cuzco, where they establish as lord the son of Guainacaba.[69]
A son of the cacique Guainacaba[68]visits them; they agree upon friendship with him, and he tells them of the movements of the army of hostile Indians with which they have some encounters before entering Cuzco, where they establish as lord the son of Guainacaba.[69]
Herethe Spaniards rested that night, having set good guards, because they were given to understand that Quizquiz was close by with all his men. And on the following morning, came to visit the Governor a son of Guainacaba and a brother of the dead cacique Atabalipa,[70]and the greatest and most important lord who was then in that land; and he had ever been a fugitive so that those of Quito might not kill him. This man said to the Governor that he would aid him to the extent of his power in order to drive from that land all those of Quito, who were his enemies and who hated himand did not wish to be the subjects of a foreign people. This man was the man to whom, by law, came all that province and whom all the caciques of it wished for their lord. When he came to see the Governor, he came through the mountains, avoiding the roads for fear of those of Quito, and the Governor received him with great gladness and replied to him: "Much does what you say please me, as does also finding you with so good a desire to expel these men of Quito, and you must know that I have come from Xauxa for no other purpose than to prevent them from doing you harm and free you from slavery to them, and you can believe that I have not come for my own benefit because I was in Xauxa, sure of having war with them and I had an excuse for not making this long and difficult journey. But knowing the injuries they were doing to you, I wanted to come to rectify and undo them, as the Emperor my lord commanded me to do. And so, you may be sure that I will do in your favor all that seems suitable for meto do. And I will do the same to liberate from this tyranny the people of Cuzco." The Governor made him all these promises in order to please him so that he might continue to give news of how affairs were going, and that cacique remained marvellously satisfied, as did also those who had come with him. And he [Manco] replied: "Henceforth I shall give you exact information concerning all that they of Quito do in order that they may not inconvenience you." And in this manner he took leave of the Governor, saying: "I am going to fish because I know that tomorrow the Christians do not eat flesh, and I shall encounter this messenger who tells me that Quizquiz is going with his men to burn Cuzco and that he is now near at hand, and I have wished to warn you of it in order that you may fix upon a remedy." The Governor at once placed all the soldiers upon the alert, and, although it was already noon, when he knew the needs of the situation, he did not wish to delay even to eat, but journeyed with all theSpaniards straight toward Cuzco, which was four leagues from that place, with the intention of establishing his camp near the city so as to enter it early the next day. And when he had travelled two leagues, he saw rise up in the distance a great smoke, and when he asked some Indians the cause of it, they told him that a squadron of the men of Quizquiz had come down a mountain and set fire [word missing]. Two captains went ahead with some forty horsemen to see if they could catch up with this squadron, which speedily joined with the men of Quizquiz and the other captains who were on a slope a league in front of Cuzco waiting for the Christians in a pass close to the road. Seen by the captains and Spaniards, they [the Indians] could not avoid an encounter with them, although the Governor had them made to understand that they [the Spaniards] would wait for the rest to join them, which they would have done, were it not for the fact that the Indians incited each other with much spirit to encounter them. And beforethey [the Spaniards] could be attacked, they fell upon them on the skirt of a hill, and in a short time they routed them, forcing them to flee to the mountain and killing two hundred of them. Another squad of cavalry crossed over another slope of the mountain where were two or three thousand Indians who, not having the pluck to wait for them, threw down their lances in order to be able to run the better, and fled headlong. And after those first two squads broke and fled, they [the Spaniards] made them flee to the heights; and [at the same time] two Spanish light horsemen saw certain Indians return down the slope, and they set themselves to skirmish with them. They perceived that they were in great danger, but they were helped, and the horse of one of them was killed, from which the Indians derived so much encouragement that they wounded four or five horses and a Christian, and they made them retreat as far as the plain. The Indians who, until then, had not seen the Christians retire, thought that they weredoing it in order to attract them to the plain and there attack them as they had done at Bilcas, and they said so among themselves and were cautious, not wishing to go down and follow them. By this time the Governor had arrived with the [rest of] the Spaniards and, as it was already late, they set up their camp on a plain, and the Indians maintained themselves an arquebuse-shot away on a slope until mid-night, yelling, and the Spaniards spent all that night with their horses saddled and bridled. And the next day, at the first ray of dawn, the Governor arranged the troops, horse and foot, and he took the road to Cuzco, with good understanding and caution, believing that the enemy would come to attack him on the road, but none of them appeared. In this way the Governor and his troops entered that great city of Cuzco without any other resistance or battle on Friday, at the hour of high mass, on the fifteenth day of the month of November of the year of the birth of our Saviour and Redeemer Jesus ChristMDXXXIII. The Governorcaused all the Christians to lodge in the dwellings around the plaza of the city, and he ordered that all should come forth with their horses to the plaza and sleep in their tents, until it could be seen whether the enemy were coming to attack them. This order was continued and observed for a month. On another day, the Governor created as lord that son of Guainacaba, for he was young, prudent and alive and the most important of all those who were there at that time, and was the one to whom that lordship came by law. And he did it so soon in order that the lords and caciques should not go away to their own lands which were divers provinces, and some very far away, and so that the natives should not join those of Quito, but should have a separate lord of their own whom they might reverence and obey and not organize themselves into bands. So he commanded all the caciques to obey him [Manco] as their lord and to do all that he should order them to do.[71]
The new cacique[72]goes with an army to drive Quizquiz from the state of Quito. He has some encounters with the Indians, and, because of the roughness of the roads, they return, and they later go thither again with a company of Spaniards, and before they set out, the cacique pays his obedience to the emperor.
The new cacique[72]goes with an army to drive Quizquiz from the state of Quito. He has some encounters with the Indians, and, because of the roughness of the roads, they return, and they later go thither again with a company of Spaniards, and before they set out, the cacique pays his obedience to the emperor.
Assoon as this was done, he [the Governor] gave orders to the new cacique to assemble many warriors in order to go and vanquish Quizquiz and drive from the land those of Quito, and he [the Governor] said to the Inca that it was not regular that, when he was lord, another should remain in his land against his will, and [the Governor] said many other words to him upon this subject in the presence of all in order that they might see the favor which he did him [Manco] and the fondness which he showed him, and this not for the sake of advantagesthat might result from it, but for his own [Manco's] sake.[73]The cacique had great pleasure in receiving this order, and in the space of four days he assembled more than five thousand Indians, all in readiness with their arms, and the Governor sent with them a captain of his own and fifty cavalrymen; he himself remained guarding the city with the rest of the troops. When ten days had gone by, the captain returned and related to the Governor what had happened, saying that at nightfall he had arrived with his troops at the camp of Quizquiz five leagues from there, because he had gone by a roundabout road through which the cacique guided him.[74]But, before arriving at enemy's camp, he encountered two hundred Indians posted in a hollow, and because the land was rough he was not able to take their fort away from them and to overpower them so that they could not give notice of his coming, which they did do. But, although this company [of Indians] was in a strong place, it was not so bold as to waitfor his attack and it withdrew to the other side of a bridge to cross which was impossible [for the Spaniards] because, from a mountain which dominated it, to which the Indians had retired, they hurled so many stones that no one was permitted to cross, and, because the land was the roughest and most inaccessible that had been seen, they [the Spaniards] turned back. [The captain] said that two hundred Indians had been killed, and that the cacique was much pleased at what [the captain] had done, and, on their return to the city had guided them through another and shorter road on which, in many places, the captain found great quantities of stones piled up for defense against the Christians, and he found, among other passes, one so bad and difficult that he, with all his troops, suffered great trials and could not follow it further. At that place it became apparent that the cacique had true, and not feigned, friendship for the Governor and Christians, for he led them out of that road from which not one Spaniard could have escaped [alone].[The captain] said that after he left the city, he did not go over as much as a cross-bow shot of flat land, and that all the country was mountainous, stony and very difficult to traverse and [he added] that if it had not been for the fact that it was the first time that the cacique was travelling with him and might impute it to fear, he would have turned back. The Governor would have liked him to follow the enemy until he drove them from the place where they were, but when he heard the nature of the place, he remained content with what had been done. The cacique said that he had sent his soldiers after the enemy, and that he thought they would do them some damage; and accordingly within four days news came that they had killed a thousand Indians. The Governor once more charged the cacique to cause more warriors to be assembled, and he himself wished to send with them some of his cavalry in order that they might not desist until they had driven the enemy from the land. When he returned from [the first] trip, thecacique went to fast in a house which was on a mountain, a dwelling which his father had built in another day; there he stayed three days, after which he came to the plaza where the men of that land gave him obedience according to their usage, recognizing him as their lord and offering him the white plume, just as they had to the cacique Atabalipa in Caxamalcha. When this was done, he caused all the caciques and lords who were there to assemble, and, having spoken to them concerning the harm that the men of Quito were doing in his land and about the good that would result to all if a stop were put to it, he commanded them to call and prepare warriors who should go against those of Quito and drive them from the place in which they had posted themselves. This the captains did at once, and they so managed to raise troops that, in the period of eight days, ten thousand warriors were in that city, all, picked men, and the Governor caused to be prepared fifty light horsemen with a captain in order that they might set out on the lastday of the feast of the Nativity. The Governor, before that journey was made, wishing to re-affirm peace and friendship with that cacique and his people, when mass had been said on Christmas day by the religious,[75]went out to the plaza with many of the soldiers of his company, and into the presence of the cacique and of the lords of the land and of the warriors who were seated along with his Spaniards, the cacique on a stool and his men on the ground around him. The Governor made them an address, as he was wont to do on such occasions, and by me, his secretary and the scrivener of the army, was read the demand and requirement which H. M. had sent, and its contents were declared to them by an interpreter; all understood it and replied [in a friendly manner]. It was required of them that they should be and should call themselves vassals of H. M., and the Governor received [their obedience] with the same ceremony as was used the other time, namely, of twice raising the royal standard, and in testimony [of thefriendship] the Governor embraced them to the sound of trumpets, observing other solemnities which I do not write in order to avoid prolixity. This done, the cacique stood up and, in a vase of gold, gave drink to the Governor and the Spaniards with his own hands, and then all went off to eat, it being already evening.
They suspect that the cacique wishes to rebel. It turns out to be unfounded. Many Spaniards go with him and twenty thousand Indians against Quizquiz, and of what happens to them they give news in a letter to the Governor.
They suspect that the cacique wishes to rebel. It turns out to be unfounded. Many Spaniards go with him and twenty thousand Indians against Quizquiz, and of what happens to them they give news in a letter to the Governor.
Andwhen the Spanish captain with the Indians and the cacique were about to depart within two days in order to go against the enemy ...[76]the Governor was informed by some Spaniards, some Indian friends and some allied natives of the country that among some of the cacique's chief men, it was being talked of that they should join with the warriors of Quito, and they [the informers] accused him of other things. Because of this, there arose some suspicion, and, in order to make sure as to whether the friendship of the cacique for the Christians who loved him so was faithful andtrue, wishing to know truth of the matter, [the Governor] caused the cacique and some of his chief men to be called, on the next day, to his room. And he told them what was being said about them; after investigation had been made and torture had been given to some Indians, it came out that the cacique and the chiefs were without any blame, and it was certified that, neither by word nor deed, had they done anything to the hurt of the Spaniards, but that two chiefs had said that because their ancestors had never been subject to anyone neither they nor the cacique ought to submit themselves [to the Spaniards]. But notwithstanding this, by what was known then and afterwards, it was believed that the Indians always loved the Spaniards and that their friendship with them was not feigned.[77]The troops did not set out on their journey because the rigor of winter [was at its height] and it rained a great deal every day, so it was determined to allow the height of the rainy season go by, principally because of thefact that many bridges had been ill-treated and broken, to mend which was essential. When the season in which the rains ceased arrived, the Governor had the fifty cavalrymen, the cacique the men he had and make ready. All of these, with the captain whom he gave them, put themselves on the march for Xauxa by way of the city of Bilcas,[78]where, it was understood, the enemy were because the roads were cut up by the many winter rains and the rivers were swollen; although there was no bridge over many of them, the Spaniards crossed on their horses with great trouble, and one of them was drowned. Arrived by [long] marches at the river which is four leagues from Bilcas, it was learned that the enemy had gone on to Xauxa. And the river being swollen and furious, and the bridge burned, it was necessary for them to stop and build it anew, for, without it, it would have been impossible to cross the river, either in those boats which are calledbalsasor by swimming or in any other way. Twenty days the camp was herein order to mend the bridge, for the officers [maestros] had much to do, because the water was high and kept breaking down the osier ropes which were put in place. And if the cacique had not had so great a number of men to build the bridge and to cross over by it and pull over the ropes of osiers, it would not have been possible to build it. But having twenty-four thousand warriors, and by crossing [the stream] again and again to attempt [to set in place the ropes] making use of cords andbalsas, at last they succeeded in placing the osier ropes and when they had been passed across [the river], the bridge was built in a very short space of time. [It was] so good and well built that another like it is not to be found in that land, for it is three hundred and seventy-odd feet long, and broad enough to allow two horses to cross at once without any risk. Then, having crossed that bridge and having arrived at Bilcas, the Spaniards found quarters in the city, from which they sent to the Governor a report on how affairs were progressing.Here the camp stopped for some days, resting, in order that they might have news of the place in which the enemy were, of which they learned no more than that they had set out for Xauxa, and that they were thinking of attacking the Spaniards who had remained there as garrison. When he learned this, the captain at once set out with the Spaniards to aid [the garrison], taking with him a brother of the cacique and four thousand warriors. The cacique returned to Cuzco, and the captain sent the governor a letter which his lieutenant wrote from Xauxa in great haste, and which was of the following tenor: "When your excellency drove the enemy from Cuzco, they rallied and came to Xauxa, and before they arrived, it was learned by our men that they were coming in great force, because, from all the places of the region, they were drawing as many men as they could, as much for warriors as to carry the supplies and baggage; when this was learned by the treasurer Alfonso [in Xauxa], he sent four light horsemen toa bridge which is twelve leagues from the city of Xauxa where the enemy were on the other side, in a very important province. When they had returned, the treasurer used his best efforts, as much in guarding the city and in treating well the caciques who were there with him as in informing himself stealthily of all the doings of the enemy. And the greatest suspicions which he had were of the Indians who were in the town and in the region and who were very numerous, because almost all were in agreement with the enemy to come and attack the Spaniards on four sides. With this agreement, the Indians of Quito crossed [the bridge before mentioned] with the intention that a captain with five hundred of their men should come from the direction of a [certain] mountain and cross a river which is a quarter of a league from the city and place himself on the highest part of the mountain [near Xauxa] in order to assault the city on the day agreed upon between them. The captain Quizquiz and Incurabaliba,[79]who were theirchief leaders, were to come by the plains with a greater force of warriors. This was speedily learned from an Indian to whom torture was given. The captain who was to cross the river and attack the city from the mountain travelled rapidly and arrived a day before the rest of the warriors. And one morning at dawn news came to the city of how many enemies had crossed the bridge, from which was born a great disaffection among the natives of Xauxa who [formerly] served the Christians loyally, from which it was supposed that the whole land had risen in arms, as has been said. First of all, the treasurer arranged that all the gold of H. M. and of the men which was in the city should be placed in a large house, and he set a guard of the feeblest and sickest Spaniards, ordering that the rest should be prepared to fight; and he ordered ten light horsemen to go out to see how large a number of the enemy had crossed the river in order to take the mountain, and he himself, with the rest of the soldiers, waited on theplaza in case the greater number of the enemy should come by way of the plain. The Spanish scouts attacked the Indians who had crossed the bridge; they retired, and the Spaniards had to cross the bridge after them some peon cross-bowmen whom the treasurer had sent them, so that the Indians turned and fled with great loss. The great blow of the others, who came by the plain, did not take place at the time agreed upon with the others for assaulting the city, and in waiting for it, they lost time. That night and the [following] day the city was vigilant, and the soldiers were always armed and their horses saddled, all being together in the plaza, thinking that on the following night the Indians would come to attack the city and burn it, as it was said that they intended to do. When [the first] two quarters of the night were passed, seeing that the enemy did not appear, the treasurer took with him a light-armed horseman and went to see in what place the enemy had camped and how many of them had approached the city, [forthe Indians who gave news of all this did not know where they were, and likewise because the enemy took roads of which no one could give information], with the result that at daybreak the treasurer found himself four leagues from the city, and, having seen the place where the Indians were and the nature of the site, he returned to the city at which he arrived a little after noon. When it was seen by the hostile Indians that the Spaniards had discovered them, they were in great fear, and got up from that site and went towards the city, and in the night they came and took up a position a quarter of a league from the city beside a small river which entered the large one. When this was known by the Spaniards, they spent that night with the greatest caution, and on the following day, after hearing mass, the treasurer took twenty light horse and twenty peons with two thousand friendly Indians, leaving as many more Spanish cavalry and some foot soldiers in the city with the understanding that they were to give a signal wheneverthe enemy should attack them so that the other [Spaniards] might come to aid them. Having gone out from the city with the lieutenant, the Spaniards saw that the Indians of Quito had crossed the little river with their squadrons in which there might be some six thousand of them, and, seeing the Spaniards, they turned and crossed to the other bank. Then, the treasurer and the Spaniards perceiving that if they did not attack the Indians that day, the following night the latter would come to sack and set fire to the city, so that there would be greater trouble if night was awaited, he [the treasurer] determined to cross the river and fight with the enemy. A sharp skirmish was held [on the other side], as much with cross-bows and arrows as with stones, and the treasurer, who was going in advance of the rest down the stream, received a stone on the crown of his head which threw him from his horse into the midst of the river, and, stunned, he was borne along quite a distance, so that he would have been drowned had not someSpanish cross-bowmen who were there helped him and pulled him from the water with much trouble. [The Indians] also gave his horse [a blow] in the leg which broke it, and he died soon. From this the Spaniards drew great animosity, and they hastened to cross the river. Seeing their determination the Indians withdrew, fleeing to a mountain where some hundred of them died. The horsemen followed them through the mountains more than a league and a half, and [finally], because they withdrew to the strongest position of the mountain, where the horses could not go up, [the Spaniards] went back to the city. And, soon perceiving that the Indians did not venture forth from that fortress [the Spaniards] determined to return once more against them, and twenty Spaniards with more than three thousand Indian friends attacked them on that mountain where they were fortified and killed many, driving them from that fortress and pursuing them more than three leagues, killing many neighboring caciques who were intheir favor. With this victory the Indian friends were as much pleased as if they alone had won it. The Indians of Quito re-assembled once more in a place called Tarma five leagues from Xauxa, whence, likewise, they were driven because they did much harm in the neighboring lands."
Of the great quantity of gold and silver which they caused to be smelted from the figures of gold which the Indians adored. Of the foundation of the city of Cuzco where a settlement of Spaniards was established, and of the order which was set up there.
Of the great quantity of gold and silver which they caused to be smelted from the figures of gold which the Indians adored. Of the foundation of the city of Cuzco where a settlement of Spaniards was established, and of the order which was set up there.
Whenthis good news was learned by the Governor, he had it published at once, and because of it the Spaniards were filled with content and gave infinite thanks to God for having shown himself favorable in everything to this enterprise. Then the Governor wrote and sent couriers to the city of Xauxa, giving to all his congratulations and thanking them for the valor they had shown, and especially his lieutenant, asking him to give him information of all that took place in the future. And in the meanwhile, the Governor hastened matters for setting out thence, leaving affairs provided for in the city, founding a colony,and peopling plentifully the said city. He caused all the gold which had been collected to be melted, which was in small pieces, an operation quickly performed by Indians skilled in the process. And when the sum total was weighed, it was found to contain five hundred and eighty thousand, two hundred-odd pesos of good gold. The fifth for H. M. was taken out, and it was one hundred and sixteen thousand, and seventy-odd pesos of good gold. And the same smelting was performed for the silver, which was found to contain two hundred and fifteen thousand marks, a little more or less, and of them one hundred and seventy thousand or so were fine silver in vessels and plates, pure and good, and the rest was not so because it was in plates and pieces mixed with other metals from which, according, the silver was extracted. And from all this, likewise, was taken the fifth of H. M. Truly it was a thing worthy to be seen, this house where the melting took place, all full of so much gold in plates of eight and ten pounds each,and in vessels, and vases and pieces of various forms with which the lords of that land were served, and among other very sightly things were four sheep[80]in fine gold and very large, and ten or twelve figures of women of the size of the women of that land, all of fine gold and as beautiful and well-made as if they were alive. These they held in as much veneration as if they had been the rulers of all the world, and alive [as well], and they dressed them in beautiful and very fine clothing, and they adored them as Goddesses, and gave them food and talked with them as if they were women of flesh.[81]These went to form a part of the fifth of H. M. There were, besides, other odd silver objects of like form. The seeing of great vases and pieces of burnished silver was certainly a matter for great satisfaction. The Governor divided and distributed all this treasure among all the Spaniards who were at Cuzco and those who remained in the city of Xauxa, giving to each one as much good silver, and asmuch impure, together with as much gold [as he deserved], and to each man who had a horse he gave according to the man's merit and that of the horse and in accordance with the services he had done; and to the peons he did the same according to what was posted up to his credit in the book of distributions, which was kept [for this purpose]. All this was completed within eight days, and at the end of as many more, the Governor set out from here, leaving the city settled in the manner which has been told. In the month of March, 1534, the Governor ordered that the greater part of the Spaniards he had with him should be assembled in this city, and he made an act of foundation and settlement of the town, saying that he placed it and founded it in his own authority[82]and he took possession of it in the middle of the plaza. And as a sign of the foundation and of the commencement of building and founding the colony, he held certain ceremonies in accordance with the act which was drawn up, which I, the scrivener, readin a loud voice in the presence of all. And the name of the city was agreed upon, "the very noble and great city of Cuzco." And, continuing the settlement, he appointed the site[83]for the church which was to be built, its boundaries, limits, and jurisdiction, and immediately afterward he proclaimed that all who might come to settle here would be received as citizens, and many came in the next three years.[84]From among them all they chose the persons most fitted for undertaking the charge of governing public affairs, and he [the Governor] appointed his lieutenant, alcaldes and ordinary regidores and other public officials, all of whom he chose in the name of H. M. and he gave them the powers to exercise their offices. This done, the Governor, with the consent and advice of the religious whom he had with him and of H. M.'s paymaster who was then with him, with whose assistance he looked over and considered the circumstances of the citizens until as many [had been chosen] as H. M. hadarranged should take part in therepartimientoof the natives; in the meanwhile a certain number of them [Indians] was assigned to all the Spaniards who were to remain, in order that they might instruct them in the things of our holy catholic faith. And there set aside and given to the service of H. M. twelve thousand-odd married Indians in the province of the Collao in the middle thereof, near the mines, in order that they might take out gold for H. M. from which, it is understood, there will be great profits, considering the great wealth of the mines which are there, of which matters lengthy mention is made in the book of the foundation of this colony and in the register of the deposit which was made by the neighbouring Indians. And the approving, confirming or amending of these arrangements was left to the will of H. M. according as should seem best to suit his royal service.
The Governor sets out with the cacique for Xauxa, and they receive news of the army of Quito, and of certain ships which some Spaniards who went to the city of San Miguel saw on those coasts.
The Governor sets out with the cacique for Xauxa, and they receive news of the army of Quito, and of certain ships which some Spaniards who went to the city of San Miguel saw on those coasts.
Whenthese things were done, the Governor set out for Xauxa, taking the cacique with him, and the citizens remained guarding the city [according] to orders which the Governor left them so that they might govern themselves until he should command something else. Journeying by forced marches, on the day of Easter, he found himself on the Bilcas river, where he learned from letters and notices from Xauxa, that the warriors of Quito, after they were routed and driven from their last positions by the captain from Cuzco, had withdrawn and fortified themselves forty leagues from Xauxa on theCaxamalcha road in a bad pass in the immediate vicinity of the road, and had built their walls to prevent the [possibility of] the horses [crossing] the pass. [These walls had] some very narrow gates in them, and a street by which to mount a high boulder where the captain and the warriors lived and which had no other entrance than this one by way of this fort that they had built with these very narrow doors; [and the Governor learned] that they were planning to await aid here, because it was known that the son of Atabalipa was coming with many warriors. This news the Governor communicated to the cacique who at once sent off couriers to the city of Cuzco in order to cause warriors to come who should not exceed two thousand in number, but who were to be the best there were in all that province, because the Governor told him that it would be better were they few and good than if they were many and unserviceable, because the many would destroy the food in the land through which they were to passwithout necessity or profit. At the same time the Governor wrote to the lieutenant and corregidor of Cuzco that he should aid the captains of the cacique and see to it that the warriors came soon. On the second day after Easter, the Governor set out from this place, and, by forced marches, arrived in Xauxa, where he learned the whole of what had passed there in his absence, and especially what those of Quito had done, and, in particular, they told him that after the enemy was put to flight from the environs of Xauxa, they had retired twenty or thirty leagues from there into the mountains, and that, according to the captain who went out against them with the brother of the cacique and four thousand men, they arrived within sight of them [the Indians], and that, after a rest of a few days, they went to attack them and routed them and drove them from that place with much trouble and great danger. When they [the Spanish force] had returned to Xauxa, the Marshal Don Diego de Almagro who, when the captain and Spaniardscame from Cuzco, had come with them by order of the Governor to inspect the Indians round about in order to see and know the state of things in that city and among its citizens, went out to visit the caciques and lords of the region of Chincha[85]and Pachacama, and the others who had their lands and lived on the sea-coast.
In this state the Governor found affairs when arrived at Xauxa, and, having rested from the long journey without arranging anything in the first few days, he waited for the Indians[86][for whom he had sent] in order to go and drive the enemy from the fort which they had made and finish with them, when there came to him one of two Spanish messengers who had gone to the city of San Miguel to see how things were going there, and who spoke to him in this way: "My lord, when I had set out from here by order of the Marshal, I set myself to journey with all speed along the plains and the shore of the sea, not without trouble, because many of the caciques who are along that road werein revolt. But some who were friendly provided us with whatever we needed, and they informed us that some ships had been seen along the sea-coast, which I myself saw one day, and, considering that I was sent to the city of San Miguel to find out whether the ships of the Adelantado Alvarado or of other people had arrived, I went [rapidly] along the coast for nine days and nights, sometimes in sight of them, believing that they would take port and that I would thus learn who they were. But even with all this speed and trouble I could not do what I wished, on which account I made up my mind to continue my journey to the city of San Miguel, and, having crossed to the other side of the large river, I was informed by the Indians of the country that Christians were coming along that road, and I, thinking that without doubt it would prove to be the troops of the Adelantado Alvarado, my companion and I went on our guard in order not to encounter themimpromptu.[87]And when they arrivedat Motupe, I learned that they were near that place [where I was], and I waited for the night. At dawn I sent my companion to speak with them, and to see what people they were, and I gave him certain tokens by which he could inform me, and finally, I learned that they were soldiers who were coming to the conquest of these kingdoms. Because of this, I went to them and spoke at length, telling them the errand I was on, and they, in return, informed me that they had come to the city of San Miguel in certain ships from Panama and were two hundred and fifty in number. When they had arrived at San Miguel, the captain who was in that city with two hundred men, seventy of them cavalry, had gone away to the provinces of Quito in order to conquer them, and they, some thirty persons with their horses, knowing the conquests which were being made in Cuzco, and the lack of men there was there, did not wish to go with the captain to those provinces of Quito and so were comingto Xauxa. And we gave them news of all that had happened here and of the war which we had had with the Indians of Quito. And in order to bring more quickly the news of what had happened there I returned from that place without going to the city of San Miguel, knowing for certain that the captain would have departed with his men and would already be near Cossibamba.[88]Turning back on my road, I met, on Easter, the Marshal D. Diego de Almagro near Cena[89]which is where the road to Caxamalca branches off, and to him I related how things were going and how some suspected that the captain who was going to Quito was not going with good intentions. As soon as the Marshal heard this, he set off in order to catch up with the captain who was taking these soldiers on the march to Quito, in order to detain him until together they could arrange the necessary provisions for this war. This, then, sir, is what has happened to me on this journey, during which I tried to getinformation about those ships, but could not learn anything else about them. Of Alvarado nothing more is known than that he has already embarked on these shores or has passed further on, as letters inform me."
They build a church in the city of Xauxa, and send some three thousand Indians with some Spaniards against the hostile Indians. They have news of the arrival of many Spaniards and horses, on which account they send soldiers to the province of Quito. A Relation of the quality and people of the land from Tumbez to Chincha, and of the province of Collao and Condisuyo.[90]
They build a church in the city of Xauxa, and send some three thousand Indians with some Spaniards against the hostile Indians. They have news of the arrival of many Spaniards and horses, on which account they send soldiers to the province of Quito. A Relation of the quality and people of the land from Tumbez to Chincha, and of the province of Collao and Condisuyo.[90]
TheGovernor received this messenger, read the letters which he brought, and asked him many other things, and, in order to arrange all that seemed suitable in this business, he called all the officials of H. M. After they had discussed the journey of that captain to Quito and how the Marshal would already have reasoned with him, according to the report brought by that messenger, permission was given [to the Governor] that he should send one of his lieutenants withsufficient powers for the task in hand. And when his letters to the city of San Miguel and to the Marshal, in which he told them what was to be done, were written, he sent off with them three Christians, in order that the letters might go more quickly and safely, ordering the men to hasten with all speed upon the road and keep advising him of what they learned. After this had been arranged, he [Pizarro] chose the place in which the church was to be erected in that city of Xauxa. This task he commanded to be done by the caciques of the district, and it was built with its great doors of stone.[91]In the meanwhile, there arrived the four thousand Indian warriors whom the cacique had called from Cuzco, and the Governor caused to be made ready fifty Spanish cavalrymen and thirty peons to go [with the Indians] in order to drive the enemy from the pass where they were, and they set out with the cacique and his soldiers, who loved the Spaniards better every day.[92]The Governor ordered the captain of theseSpaniards to pursue the enemy as far as Guanaco[93]and as far beyond as he believed necessary, and that he should keep him informed continually, by letters and messengers of what went on. After this, the Governor received news of the ships on the feast of the Holy Ghost, and at the same time, he received a letter from San Miguel which two Spaniards brought him, and he learned how the ships, because of bad weather, had remained seventy leagues from Paccacama[94]without being able to go further, and how the Adelantado de Alvarado had gone up to Puerto Viejo three months before with four hundred men [on foot] and one hundred and fifty cavalry[95]and with them he entered the interior in the direction of Quito, believing that he would arrive there at the same time that the Marshal Don Diego de Almagro would enter those provinces from the other side. As a result of all this information concerning the justice and government of the city of S. Miguel and of other places, the Governorentered upon the control of it [himself]. And, in order to mend matters, with the consent of the officials, he sent his messengers in a brigantine by sea, and with them he sent orders to the Marshal that, in the name of H. M., he should lend him [Pizarro] aid, and should conquer, pacify and settle those provinces of Quito with the troops he had with him and with those who were in readiness in the city of San Miguel. At the same time, he arranged other matters in this connection, so that Alvarado should do no harm in the land, and because H. M. so desired that it should be, and likewise he determined that, on the arrival of the ships, he would send a report to H. M. of all that had taken place on that venture up to that very hour, so that he [H. M.] might be informed of all and might provide in every instance what he held to be the best for his royal service. This is the state of the affairs of war and of other matters in this land: and of the quality of it I shall speak briefly because a relation of it was sent from Caxamalca.This land, from Tumbez to Chincha has [a width of some] ten leagues, in some places more, in others less; it is a broad, flat, sandy land in which no grass or herbs grow and where it rains but little; it is [in places] fertile in maize and fruits because the people sow and irrigate their farms with water from the rivers that come down from the mountains. The houses which the laborers use are made of rushes and branches, because, when it does not rain, it is very hot, and few of the houses have roofs.[96]They are a wretched folk, and many of them are blind on account of the great amount of sand that there is. They are poor in gold and silver, and what they have is because those who live in the sierra exchange it for goods. All the land beside the sea is of this description as far as Chincha, and even fifty leagues beyond there. They dress in cotton [bambaso] and eat maize both cooked and raw, and half-raw meat. At the end of the plains which are called Ingres are some very high mountains which extend from the city of SanMiguel as far as Xauxa, and which may well be one hundred and fifty leagues long, but have little breadth. It is a very high and rugged land of mountains and many rivers; there are no forests save some trees in places where there is always a thick mist. It is very cold because there is a snow-capped mountain range which extends from Caxamalca to Xauxa and on which there is snow all the year through. The people who live there are much more advanced than the others, because they are very polished and warlike and of good dispositions. They are very rich in gold and silver because they get it from many places in the mountains. None of the lords who have governed these provinces have ever been able to make any use of these coast-people, as they are such a wretched and poor folk, as I have said, that they are fit to be used for nothing else than to carry fish and fruits [up into the highlands], for as soon as they come into the mountainous regions, their own land being very hot, they sicken for the most part; andthe same thing happens to those who inhabit the mountains if they go down into the hot country. Those who dwell on the other side of the land, beyond the summits of the mountains, are like savages who have no houses nor any maize save a little; they have very great forests and maintain themselves almost entirely on the fruit of the trees; they have no domicile, nor fixed settlements that are known; there are very great rivers, and the land is so useless that it paid all its tribute to the lords in parrot feathers.[97]
The mountainous region being the chief part of the country, and being so narrow, as well as being torn by the wars that have been there, settlements of Christians cannot be made there, for it is a very remote region. From the city of Xauxa along the Cuzco road, the country keeps getting more shut in by mountains and the distance from the sea is greater. And those who have been lords of Cuzco, their own dwelling being in Cuzco, called the rest of the land, in the direction of Quito, Cancasuetio, and the land beyond[Cuzco], called Callao, Collasuyo, and, in the direction of the sea, Condisuyo, and the interior Candasuyo;[98]and in this way they gave names to these four provinces, disposed like a cross, which contained their empire. In the Collao they know not of the sea, and it is a flat land to judge from what has been seen of it, and it is large and cold, and there are in it many rivers from which gold is got. The Indians say that in the province is a large lake of fresh water which, in its centre, has two islands.[99]In order to learn the state of this land and its government, the Governor sent two Christians to bring him a long report of it; they set out in the beginning of December. The region of Condisuyo, toward the sea from Cuzco is a small and delectable land, although it is all of forests and stones, and the inland region is so likewise. Through it [the Antisuyu] run all the rivers which do not flow into the western sea. It is a land of many trees and mountains and is very thinly populated. This sierra runs from Tumbes as far asXauxa, and from Xauxa as far as the city of Cuzco. It is stony and rough; if there were not roads made by hand it would not be possible to travel on foot, still less on horseback, and for the roads there are many houses full of materials for repairing the pavement, and in this matter the lords had so much firmness that there was nothing to do but keep it in order.[100]All the mountain fields[101]are made in the guise of stairways of stone, and the rest of the road has no great width because of some mountains that hem it in on both sides, and on one side they had made a buttress of stone so that one day it should not slide down [the mountain], and there are, likewise, other places, in which the road has a breadth of four or five human bodies, all made and paved with stone. One of the greatest works the conquerors saw in this land was these roads. All or most of the people on these slopes of the mountains live on high hills and mountains; their houses are of stone and earth; there are many dwellings in eachvillage. Along the road each league or two or nearer, are found the dwellings built for the purpose of allowing the lords to rest when they were out visiting and inspecting their land; and every twenty leagues there are important cities, heads of provinces, to which the smaller cities brought their tribute of maize, clothes and other things. All these large cities have storehouses full of the things which are in the land, and, because it is very cold but little maize is harvested except in specially assigned places; but [there is plenty of] all the many vegetables and roots with which the people sustained themselves, and also good grass like that of Spain. There are also wild turnips which are bitter. There is a sufficiency of herds of sheep[102]which go about in flocks with their shepherds who keep them away from the sown fields, and they have a certain part of [each] province set apart for them to winter in. The people, as I have said, are very polished and intelligent, and go always clad and shod; they eat maize both cooked and raw,and drink much chicha, which is a beverage made from maize after the fashion of beer. The people are very tractable and very obedient and yet warlike. They have many arms of diverse sorts, as has been told in the relation of the imprisonment of Atabalipa which was sent from Caxamalca, as was said above.[103]