Sixty Leagues Farther To The South, In The District Of _Guanuco_, Vaco De
Castro Established A Colony Which He Ordered To Be Called _Leon_, As He
Came From The City Of That Name In Spain.
The country of Guanuco is
fertile and abounds in provisions; and valuable mines are believed to
exist on that side which is occupied by a warlike and powerful inca in a
province of the Andes, as shall be mentioned hereafter[25].
There is no
other place in the mountains farther south which has been as yet settled
by the Christians, till we come to the province of _Guamanga_, in which is
a small town named San Juan de la Vittoria[26], which is sixty leagues
from Leon. In San Juan there are very few Spaniards, but their number is
expected to increase, if the neighbouring inca can be induced to submit to
peace; as he at present occupies the best lands belonging to that city, in
which there are many mines, and which produces the herb called _coca_ in
great abundance, formerly mentioned as of great value. The town of
Guamanga is about eighty leagues from the city of Cuzco; the road between
being exceedingly difficult, as it goes over high and precipitous
mountains, and through very dangerous passes.
Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the kings of Peru resided in the city
of Cuzco, whence they governed the whole of this great country of which I
have endeavoured to give some account, and which will be more particularly
treated of in the sequel of this history. This city served as the common
centre for all the chiefs or caciques of this vast kingdom, to which they
resorted from all quarters, to pay their tributes to the king, and to
obtain justice in case of disputes among each other. At that time Cuzco
was the only place in all Peru that had the least resemblance to a city.
It had even a strong fortress, built of such enormous dressed stones, that
it was very wonderful to conceive in what manner the Indians had been able
to transport such vast masses of stone without the aid of any animals of
draught. In fact some of these are so large that they would have required
ten yokes of oxen to have dragged them along on a fit carriage. The houses
which are now inhabited by the Spaniards are the same which were formerly
occupied by the Indians; some of which houses have been merely repaired
and others enlarged by their present possessors. This city was formerly
divided into four quarters, corresponding to the four cardinal points; and
by orders of the _Incas_, or sovereigns of Peru, all those natives who
came to the capital were obliged to lodge in the particular quarter which
was towards the direction of the province from whence they came, under
severe penalties. The south quarter of the city was named _Colla-sugo_,
from the province of _Collao_ which lay to the south. The northern quarter
was named _Chinca-sugo_, from the large and renowned province of
_Chinca_[27] in that direction. The eastern and western quarters were
respectively named _Ande-sugo_ and _Conde-sugo_. The country about Cuzco
is extremely fertile, and abounds in all kinds of provisions, and the
climate is so healthy that the inhabitants are seldom if ever sick.
Around the city there are many rich mines, whence all the gold which has
been hitherto sent into Spain was procured. These indeed have been nearly
abandoned since the discovery of the rich silver mines of Potosi; both
because much greater profit may be made from these other mines of silver,
and because the working of these are far less dangerous both to the
Indians and Spaniards who are there employed.
From the city of Cuzco to that of La Plata in the province of Charcas, the
distance is more than a hundred and fifty leagues, between which two
places there is a large flat province named _Collao_, above fifty leagues
long; the principal part of which, named _Chiquito_, belongs to his
majesty. Seeing so large an extent of country unoccupied by the Spaniards,
the licentiate De la Gasca sent some people there in 1545 to commence an
establishment. The city of La Plata is situated in the coldest part of all
the mountainous region of Peru, and has very few inhabitants, but these
are extremely rich, and spend the greatest part of the year in the mines
of _Porco_, and in those of _Potosi_ since their discovery. Towards the
left hand or the east from La Plata, a new province was explored by Diego
de Rojas and Philip Gutierez, by the order of Vaca de Castro, which was
named _Rojas_[28] from one of these captains. It is said to be fertile and
abounding in provisions, but they have not found so much riches there as
was expected. Captain Domingo de Ytala and his companions came by that way
into Peru in 1549, having remounted the Rio Plata from the Atlantic Ocean.
Such is the state and situation of all that has been hitherto discovered
of this vast country of Peru, which is chiefly known along the coast of
the South Sea, and has not been much explored in its inland parts, on
account of the vast quantity of lofty and rude mountains, by which it is
everywhere pervaded, and which are extremely difficult to pass; because of
their height and precipitous nature, the excessive cold which prevails
among them, and the scarcity of food. Yet the industry and courage of the
Spaniards would have overcome all these obstacles, if there were any hope
of finding a rich country beyond.
As the Peruvians were ignorant of writing they knew nothing respecting the
history of the creation and deluge or of their own origin. They had
however some tradition among them, which had been altered from age to age
according to the fancies of the reciters. They said that there came
anciently from the north, a man who had no bones or joints, and who was
able to shorten or lengthen the way before him as he thought fit, and to
elevate or depress the mountains at his pleasure.
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