THE
TRAVELS
OF
PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON,
A.D. 1532-50,
CONTAINED IN THE
First Part of the Chronicle of Peru,
TRANSLATED AND EDITED,
WITH NOTES AND AN INTRODUCTION,
by
CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM, F.S.A., F.R.G.S.,
CHAPTER XCIX.
Of the great district which is inhabited by the Collas of the appearance
of the land where their villages are built, and how Mitimaes were
stationed to supply them with provisions.
The region which they call Collao appears to me to be the
largest province in all Peru, and the most populous. The
Collas are first met with at Ayavire, and they extend as far
as Caracoto. To the east of their province are the forests
of the Andes, to the west are the peaks of the snowy
mountains, which descend on the other side to the South
Sea. Besides the lands which the natives occupy with
their fields and houses, there are vast uninhabited tracts
360 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
full of wild flocks. The land of the Collas is level in most
parts, and rivers of good water flow through it.
These plains form beautiful and extensive meadows, the
herbage of which is always plentiful, and at times very
green, although in the spring it is parched up as in Spain.
The winter begins (as I have already said) in October, and
lasts until April. The days and nights are almost equal,
and the cold in this district is greater than in any other
part of Peru, excepting the snowy peaks, because the land
is high, and comes up to the mountains. Certainly if this
land of the Collao had a deep valley like those of Xauxa or
Chuquiapu, which would yield maize, it would be one of the
richest in all the Indies. When the wind is blowing it is
hard work to travel over these plains of the Collao, but
when there is no wind, and the sun is shining, it is very
pleasant to see the beautiful and well-peopled meadows.
But the climate is so cold that there is no maize, nor any
kind of tree ; and the land is too sterile to yield any of the
fruits which grow in other parts. (1) The houses in the
villages are built of stone, and roofed with straw instead of
tiles, and they are placed close together. This coimtry of
the Collao was once very populous, and was covered with
large villages, round which the Indians had their fields,
where they raised crops for food. Their principal food is
potatoes, which are like earth nuts, as I have before described.
1. This description of the Collao is very accurate. South of the Vilca-
uota mountains the Andes separate into two distinct chains, namely the
Cordillera or coast range and the Eastern Andes, which include the loftiest
peaks in South America, IlHmani and Sorata. The Collao is the region
between these two ranges. It contains the great lake of Titicaca, and
consists of elevated plains intersected by rivers flowing into the lake.
2 The potatoe was indigenous to the Andes of Peru, and the best
potatoe in the world is grown at a place called Huamantango, near Lima.
I am surprised to find that Humboldt should have doubted this fact,
(" La pomme de terre n'est pas indigene au Perou.'' Nouv. Espagne,
ii, p. 400), seeing that there is a native word for potatoe, and that it is
mentioned as the staple food of the people of the Collao, by Cieza de Leon.
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON. 361
They dry these potatoes in the sun,
and keep them from one harvest to another. After they
are dried they call these potatoes chunus, and they are
highly esteemed and valued among them. (1) They have no
water in channels for irrigating the fields, as in many other
parts of this kingdom, so that, if the natural supply of
water required for the crops fails, they would suffer from
famine and want if they had not this store of dried potatoes.
Many Spaniards have enriched themselves and returned
prosperous to Spain by merely taking these chunvs to sell
at the mines of Potosi. They have another kind of food
called oca, (2) which is also profitable, but not so much so as a
seed which they also raise, called qidnua, (3) a small grain
like rice. When the harvest is abundant, all the inhabitants
of the Collao live contented and free from want, but when
there is want of water they suffer great distress.
But, in truth, the Kings Yncas who ruled over this em-
pire were so wise, and such excellent governors, that they
established laws and customs without which the majority of
their people would have suffered great hardships, as they
did before they came under the rule of the Yncas, In the
Collao, and in all the parts of Peru, where, owing to the
cold climate, the land is not so fertile and abundant as in
the warm valleys, they ordered that, as the great forests of
Leon, and other early writers. Moreover the Solanacece are the
commonest plants in several parts of Peru. The ancient Quichua for potatoe
is ascu or acsu, and the same word exists in the Chinchaysuyu dialect.
{Torres Rubio, p. 219.)
1. Chunus or frozen potatoes are still the ordinary food of the natives
of the Collao. They dam up square shallow pools by the sides of
streams, and fill them with potatoes during the cold season of June and
July. The frost soon converts them into chunus which are insipid and
tasteless.
2 The oca {Oxalis tuber osa Lin.) is an oval shaped root, the skin pale
red, and the inside white. It is watery, has a sweetish taste, and is
much liked by the Peruvians.
3. quinoa
See note at page 143.
362 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
The Andes bordered on these sterile tracts, a certain number
of Indians with their wives should be taken from each
village, and stationed to cultivate the land in the places
where the chiefs directed them to settle. Here they sowed
the things which would not grow in their own country,
sending the fruits of their labours to their chiefs, and they
were called Mitimaes. At the present day they serve the
principal encomienderos, and cultivate the precious coca.
Thus, although no maize can be raised throughout the
Colloa, the chiefs and people did not fail to obtain it by this
arrangement, for the Mitimaes brought up loads of maize,
coca, and fruits of all kinds, besides plenty of honey, which
abounds in all parts of the forests, where it is formed in the
hollows of trees in the way I have described when treating
of Quinbaya.^ In the province of Charcas this honey is
excellent. It is said that Francisco de Carbajal, master
of the camp to Gonzalo Pizarro, always ate this honey, and
though he drank it as if it had been water or wine, he
always remained strong and healthy, as he was when I saw
him judged in the valley of Xaquixaguana, although he was
over eighty years of age according to his own account.
CHAPTER C.
Of what is said concerning the origin of these Collas, of their appearance,
and how they buried their dead.
Many of these Indians say that they have heard from their
fathers that, in times past, there was a great deluge, in the
manner described by me in the third chapter of the second
part. They also declare that the origin of their ancestors
was very ancient, and they relate so many sayings and
fictions that I shall not stop to write them down, for some
(See chapter xxv, p. 9U.)
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON. 363
say that their ancestors came out of a fountain, others from
a rock, and others out of a lake, so that no sense can
be learnt from them concerning their origin. But they all
agree that their ancestors lived in a wild state before they
were subjugated by the Yncas, that they had strongholds
in the mountains whence they came out to fight, and that
they had many vicious customs. Afterwards they learnt from
the Yncas all that had been made known to the other vassals,
and they built their villages in the same way as they have
them now. Both men and women are clothed in woollen
dresses. They say that, before marriage, the women may go
loosely, but that they are punished with death if they are
guilty of infidelity after they have been delivered to husbands.
These people wear woollen caps called chucos on their heads.
Their heads are very long, and flattened behind, because
they are pressed and forced into what shape they choose
during childhood. The women wear hoods on their heads,
almost of the same shape as those worn by friars. Before
the Yncas conquered the country, many of the Indians
declare that there were two great lords in the Colloa, the
one called Sapana and the other Cari, who conquered many
pucaras which are their fortresses. They add that one of
these chiefs entered the large island in the lake of Titicaca,
and found there a white people who had beards ; that they
fought with them in such a manner that all were killed;
and that they also fought great battles with the Canas and
Canches. After they had performed notable deeds, these
tyrants, or lords, who had risen up in the Colloa, turned
their arms against each other, seeking also for the friendship
of the Ynca Huira-ccocha, who then reigned in Cuzco.
The Ynca made a treaty of peace with Cari at Chucuito,
and intrigued so skilfully that he became lord of a great
part of the Collao without fighting. The principal chiefs of
this country go about with a large retinue, and, when they
travel, they are carried in litters, and treated with great
364 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
respect by all the Indians. They had their temples and
huacas in secret places where they adored their gods^ and
those who were selected for that duty conversed with the
devil.
The things which to my mind are most worthy of
notice in the Collao, are the tombs of the dead. When I
travelled over this country I stopped to write down all that
deserved mention concerning the Indians ; and I was truly
astonished to see how little they cared for having large and
handsome houses for the living, while they bestowed so
much care on the tombs where the dead were interred, as if
all happiness did not consist in something else. Thus, in
the plains and meadows near their villages, the tombs were
built in the form of small towers, some of stones only, and
others of stones mixed with earth, some broad and others
narrow, according to the rank and wealth of those who
built them. (1) Some of them were roofed with straw, and
others with large slabs. I observed that the doors of these
towers were towards the east. When the natives of the
Collao died they were mourned for during many days, the
women holding staves in their hands, and putting ashes on
their bodies. The relations of the deceased each con-
tributed something, as well sheep, lambs, and maize, as
other things, and, before they buried the corpse, they
killed sheep, put the cooked meat into the rooms of their
houses, and made much drink from the maize. The deceased
is honoured according to the quantity of this beverage that
is made. When the drink is ready, and the sheep and
lambs killed, they carry the corpse to the place where the
1. The most remarkable of these tower tombs of the Collao are at a
place called Sillustani, on a promontory running out into the lake of
Umayu, near Puno. This promontory is literally covered with places of
sepulture. Four of them are towers of finely cut masonry, with the sides
of the stones dovetailing into each other. See a full description of them
in my Travels in Peru and lacUa, p. Ill ; also Vigne's Travels in South
America ii, p. 31 ; and Antiguedades Peruunas p. 293.
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON. 365
tomb is prepared, accompanied, if the deceased was a chief,
by the people of the village. Then they burnt ten, twenty,
or more sheep, according to the rank of the dead man, and
killed the women, boys and servants who were to accompany
him, according to their vain belief. All these are buried in
the same tomb with the body, into which they also put
some people alive. Having interred the deceased in this
manner, they all return to the house whence they had taken
the body, and there eat the food and drink the chicha,
coming out from time to time to dance mournful dances in
the appointed places near the house. This goes on for
some days, at the end of which the poorest men and women
are assembled, and given what remains of the food and
chlcha. If the deceased was a great chief, they did not
bury him immediately, but, before doing so, they practised
superstitious vanities for some days, which I shall not
describe. When these are finished, the women and servant-
girls who have not been killed come out into the village in
their mantles and hoods, some carrying the arms of the
chief, others his ornamental head-dress, and others his
clothes and other things. They walk along uttering sad and
sorrowful words, while an Indian goes before them mourning
and playing on a drum. Thus they traverse the greater
part of the village, declaring, in their songs, the deeds
of the dead chief, and other things concerning him. I
remember that when I was going to Charcas in company
with Diego de Uzeda, who now lives in the city of La Paz,
we saw certain women walking in this way through the
village of Nicasio,(1) and we learnt from the people of the
village that they were saying what I have described in this
chapter. One of the Indians added that when these women
had finished their lamentations, they would be made drunk,
1. A small village of the Collao, on the banks of the river Pucara, near
the point where, uniting with the Azangaro, it forms the Ramiz, which
empties itself into lake Titicaca at the north-west corner.
366 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
and some of them would be killed to accompany the dead
man. In many other villages I have seen them mourn for
the dead during many days, and put ropes of sedge round
their heads as a sign of grief.
CHAPTER CI.
How these Indians perform their annual ceremonies, and of the temples
they had in ancient times.
In the last chapter I have declared how these people made
great ado when they put their dead into the tombs. After
the interment the women and servants shaved their heads,
put on their commonest clothing, and took no care of their
persons. Besides this, in order to show their grief, they
twisted ropes of sedge round their heads, and uttered continual
lamentations during a whole year if the deceased was
a chief, and had no light in the house for several days.
These people, by the permission of God, were, like all the
others, deceived by the devil with the false and delusive
apparitions of some people who were dead, dressed and
adorned in the way their bodies had been put into the tombs.
In order to show more care for the dead they held annual
festivals, when they brought animals and killed them near
the tombs, also emptying many vases of liquor over the
tombs, which completed this vain and foolish ceremony.
As this nation of the Collao was so numerous, they had,
in former times, great temples and superstitious rites,
venerating those whom they set apart as priests, and who
conversed with the devil. They held their festivals at the
season when they got in their potatoes, which is their principal
food, and then they killed animals as sacrifices. At
the present time we do not know that they have any public
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON. 367
temple, but, by the will of our God and Lord, many Catholic
churches have been founded, where our priests preach the
holy gospel, and teach the faith to all the Indians who
desire to receive the water of baptism. I verily believe
that if there had been no civil wars, and if we had sincerely
and earnestly endeavoured to convert these people, many
would have been saved, who have now been damned. At
present there are priests and friars in many parts of the
Collao, appointed by those who hold encomiendas over the
Indians ; and I pray to God that he will carry this work
forward without weighing our sins.
The natives of the Collao say the same as all the other
people of the Sierra, that the Creator of the world was
called Huira-ccocha, and they know that his principal abode
is in heaven; but, deceived by the devil, they adored
various gods, like all the other gentiles. They have certain
romances or songs in which they preserve the memory of
their deeds, and prevent their being forgotten, although
they have no letters.
Among the people of the Collao there are men of great
intelligence, who reply to what is asked from them ; and
they take account of time, and know some of the movements
both of the sun and the moon. They count their years
from ten months to ten months, and I learnt from them
that they called the year Mari, the moon or month Ales
paquexe, and the day Auro. When they submitted to the
Yncas they made great temples by their order, both on the
island of Titicaca and at Hatun-colla, as well as in other
parts.
368 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
CHAPTER CII.
Of the ancient ruins at Pucara, of the former greatness of Hatun-colla,
of the village called Azangaro, and of other things wliich are here
related.
Now that I have related certain things that I was able to
collect respecting the Collao as briefly as possible I propose
to continue my writing by giving an account of the villages
along the royal road as far as the city of La Paz, which is
built in the valley of Chuquiapu, on the confines of the great
province of the Collao.
Coming from Ayavire along the royal road, the traveller
reaches Pucara (which means a strong place), four
leagues from Ayavire. I remained a whole day at Pucara
looking at everything. (1) It is reported by the Indians that
there was formerly a large population in this place, but at
present there is scarcely an inhabitant. The neighbouring
Indians say that Tupac Ynca Yupanqui besieged the place
during many days, for, before they could be conquered, the
natives showed themselves to be so valorous, that they killed
many people. When they were finally conquered, the
Ynca ordered great stone pillars to be set up in memory of
the victory. Whether this be really so or not I cannot say,
but the Indians declare it. I saw the ruins of great edifices
1. The editor also remained a whole day at Pucara in 1860, looking at
everything, but more than three centuries had elapsed since the visit of
Cieza de Leon, and there is no longer a vestige of the ruins mentioned
in the text. Pucara is a little town at the foot of an almost perpendicular
mountain, which closely resembles the northern end of the rock of
Gibraltar. The precipice is composed of a reddish sandstone, and is
upwards of twelve hundred feet above the plain, the crevices and summit
being clothed with long grass and shrubby quenuas {Polylepis tomentella
Wedd.) Here Francisco Hernandez Giron, the rebel who led an insurrection to
oppose the abohtion of personal service amongst the Indians,
was finally defeated in 1554. In 1860 the aged cura, Dr. Jose Faustino
Dasa, was one of the best Quichua scliolars in Peru.
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON. 369
in Pucara, and many pillars of stone carved in the form of
men, besides other things worthy of note.
The distance from Pucara to Hatun-colla is fifteen leagues,
and on the road there are some villages, such as Nicasio,
Juliaca, and others. In former times Hatun-colla was the
principal place in the Collao, and the natives affirm that
before the Yncas conquered the country, the chief Sapana
and some of his descendants ruled here, who were so
powerful that they gained many spoils from the neighbouring
people whom they defeated in battle. Afterwards the
Yncas adorned the place with new edifices and many storehouses,
where, by their order, the tribute was received
from the surrounding districts. There was also a temple of
the sun, with many Mama-cunas and priests for its service,
and a great quantity of Mitimaes and soldiers to watch the
frontier, and to prevent any tyrant from rising against him
whom they held as sovereign lord. Thus it may be affirmed
that Hatun-colla was a grand place, as its name implies,
for Hatwi means " great " in their language. In these
times all is in ruins, and most of the inhabitants have been
killed in the wars. (1)
From Ayavire another road goes to Omasuyu, which
leads round the other side of the great lake of which I shall
treat presently, and nearer to the forests of the Andes.
It passes by the large villages of Asillo, Azangaro, and
others of less importance, and the country is very rich both
in flocks and provisions. When the Yncas conquered this
country, the people of these villages had large flocks of
sheep. In the same district, in the forests of the Andes, is
the famous and very rich river of Caravaya, whence, in
former years, they took more than 1,700,000 pesos of gold
of such fineness that it exceeded the standard; and gold is
still found in the river, but it is only obtained with great
1 Hatun-colla is now a wretched little village, not far from the towers
of Sillustani, already alluded to.
370 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
labour, and by the deatb of the Indians who work in it,
for the climate is unhealthy, though the wealth of the
river is great (1)
CHAPTER CIII
Of the great lake which is within the province of the Collao, of its
depth, and of the temple of Titicaca.
This land of the Collao is very extensive (as I have said in
former chapters), and, besides the inhabited parts, there
are many deserts, snowy mountains, and grassy plains
which yield sustenance to the wild flocks which wander in
all directions. In the centre of the province there is the
largest and broadest lake that has been found in the Indies,
near which are most of the villages of the Collao. The
people raise their crops on large islands in the lake, where
they also keep their valuables, as being safer than in the
villages along the roads. I remember that I have already
said that it is so cold in this province, that not only are
there no fruit trees, but they cannot raise maize. In the
beds of reeds in this lake there are many kinds of birds,
such as large ducks, and they kill two or three kinds of fish
in the lake, which are very good, though they are held to be
unwholesome.
This lake is so large that it has a circumference of eighty
leagues, and so deep that the captain Juan Ladrillero told
me that in some parts, when he was sailing with his brigantines,
he found the depth to be seventy or eighty brazas, in
some places more, in others less. In this respect, and in regard
to the waves that are formed when the wind rises, it appears
like some gulf of the sea. (2) If it is desired that I should say
1. See my chapter on the province of Caravaya, in Travels in Peru and
India, chap, xii, p. 190.
2 A thorough survey of the great lake of Titicaca is still a desideratum
in geography. The lake is about 80 miles long by 40 broad, being by
far the largest in South America. It is divided into two parts by the
peninsula of Copacabana. The southern division, called the lake of Huaqui,
is 8 leagues long by 7, and is united to the greater lake by the strait of
Tiquina. A number of rivers, which are of considerable volume during
the rainy season, flow into the lake. The largest of these is the Ramiz,
which is formed by the junction of the two rivers of Pucara and Azangaro,
and enters the lake at its north-west corner. The Suchiz, formed
by the rivers of Cavanilla and Lampa, also flows into the lake on its west
side, as well as the Yllpa and Ylave ; while on the eastern side are the
rivers Huarina, Escoma, and Achacache. Much of the water thus flowing
in is drained off by the great river Desaguadero, which flows out of
the south-west corner, and disappears in the swampy lake of Aullagas,
in the south of Bolivia. Perhaps a great quantity is taken up by evaporation.
On the eastern side lake Titicaca is very deep, but on parts of
the west shore it is so shoal that there is only just water enough to force
a balsa through the forests of rushes. The winds blow from the eastward
all the year round, sometimes in strong gales, so as to raise a heavy sea.
Along the western shore there are acres of tall rushes. The principal
islands are those of Titicaca and Coati, near the peninsula of Copacabana, Campanario, Escoma, Soto, and Esteves.
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON. 371
how so much water was collected into this lake, I am
unable to do so, for, though many rivers and streams fall
into it, I do not think that they would suffice to make it what
it is, especially as a river flows out of it into another smaller
lake called Aullagas. It may be that, after the deluge, this
lake remained with the water we now see in it, for if it
communicated with the sea the water would be salt and not
fresh; besides it is at a distance of sixty leagues from the
sea. All this water flows out in a deep river which they
called the Desaguadero, and falls into the lake which, as I
have already said, is called Aullagas.
Another thing worthy of attention is, that we see how
the water of one lake enters the other (that is, the water of
the lake of the Collao flows into the Aullagas), but not how
it flows out of the lake of Aullagas, although it has been
examined on all sides. On this subject I have heard both
Spaniards and Indians say that, in some of the valleys near
the South Sea, they had seen streams of water, which flow
372 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
under the earth towards the said sea; and they believe
that this may be the water of the lake, draining out and
opening for itself a road through the bowels of the earth,
until it reaches the place to which all waters go, which is
the sea.
The great lake of the Colloa is called Titicaca, from the
temple which was built on an island in it. The natives
held a very vain and foolish belief, which was, that in the
time of their ancestors there was no light for many days,
and that, when all was wrapped in darkness and obscurity,
the resplendent sun came up out of this island of
Titicaca, for which reason it was considered sacred, and
the Yncas erected a temple on it in honour of the sun,
which was much revered and venerated among them, and
which contained many virgins and priests, and great store
of treasure, of which the Spaniards, at different times, have
collected a great deal, but most of it is still missing. (1) If,
in truth, the Indians ever really were in want of light,
as they say, it must have been owing to some eclipse of the
sun; and, as they are such sorcerers, they invented this
fable, in which they were assisted by the illusions of the
devil, God permitting it for their sins.
CHAPTER CIV.
In which the narrative continues, and the villages are described as far
as Tiahuanaco.
Returning to the road where I left it, which was at Hatun-
colla, I have to say that it passes thence by Paucar-colla,
1. The temple, on the island of Titicaca, was one of the most sacred
in Peru, and the ruins are still in a good state of preservation. The
buildings are of hewn stone, with doorways wider below than above.
But they are inferior to those on the adjacent island of Coati. See
Rlvero, Antiguedades Peruanas, chap. x.
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON. 373
and other villages of this nation of the Collas, to Chucuito,
which is one of the principal and most complete towns in
any part of this great kingdom, and is the chief place of
the Indians owned by his Majesty in this province. It is
certain, too, that the Yncas in former times held Chucuito
to be an important place, and, according to the accounts of
the Indians, it is the most ancient place of any that I have
yet described. Cariapasa was the chief of this place, and,
for an Indian, was a very intelligent man. There are large
buildings here ; and, before the chiefs were subjugated
by the Yncas, they were very powerful, among whom the
Indians mention two as the principal, named Cari and
Yumalla. Chucuito is now, as I have said, the principal
village of the Indians of his Majesty, whose other villages
are Juli, Chilane, Acos, Pomata, and Zepita, in which
there are chiefs who command the Indians. When I passed
through these parts the corregidor was Simon Pinto, and
the governor was an Indian named Gaspar, an intelligent
and clever man. The natives are rich in flocks, and they
have plenty of provisions. In other parts they have Mitimaes
stationed to raise their maize and coca. There are
fine churches in these villages founded by the reverend father
friar Tomas de San Martin, principal of the Dominicans.
The young men, and others who most desire it, assemble to
hear the evangehcal doctrine preached by the friars and
clergymen. Most of the chiefs have turned Christians.
Near Zepita flows the Desaguadero, where, till the days of
the Yncas, there used to be toll takers who received tribute
from those who passed over the bridge, which is made of
bundles of stalks, in such sort that men and horses can
cross over it. In one of these villages, called Juli, the
master of the camp, Francisco de Carbajal, hung the captain
Hernando Bachicao. (1) This is one of the examples which
1 We first meet with Hernando Bachicao as a captain of pikemen in
the army of Vaca de Castro. When Gonzalo Pizarro rose against the
viceroy Blasco Nuiiez de Vela, he entrusted Bachicao with the formation
of a navy. That officer took command of a brigantine at Callao, which
had just arrived from Quilca, and sailed up the coast. At Tumbez he
found the viceroy, who fled inland on his approach ; and Bachicao seized
two vessels. Sailing northward he captured several others, and with the
fleet thus formed, he got possession of the city of Panama in March 1545.
Soon afterwards Gonzalo Pizarro appointed Hinojosa to command the
fleet, and superseded Bachicao ; who then joined his chief with reinforce-
ments from Panama, and took part in the final defeat of the viceroy at
Afiaquito, where he commanded the pikemen. At the battle of Huarina,
where he also commanded the pikemen, believing that the forces of
Centeno were about to gain the victory, he turned traitor and deserted
his colours ; but he was mistaken, for his old commander Gonzalo Pizarro
won that bloody fight. Bachicao, therefore, returned to his own side,
and would have been glad if his conduct had escaped observation. But
the eagle eye of the fiery old master of the camp, Carbajal, was not to
be deceived, and the captain Hernando Bachicao was hung by his order,
a few days afterwards, in the little village of Juli, on the western shore
of lake Titicaca.
374 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
show us that the civil wars and troubles in Peru were the
scourges of God, for they killed each other with great
cruelty, as I shall relate in the proper place.
Beyond these villages is Huaqui, where there were buildings
of the Yncas, one of which is now a church, where the
children may hear the Christian doctrine at the proper
hours.
CHAPTER CV.
Of the village of Tiahuanaco, and of the great and ancient edifices
which are to be seen there.
Tiahuanaco is not a very large village, but it is celebrated
for the great edifices near it, which are certainly things
worth seeing. (1) Near the buildings there is a hill made by
1 These ruins are in lat. 16° 42' S. long. 68" 42' W., 12,930 feet above
the level of the sea, and twelve miles from the south shore of lake Titicaca.
(See Mr. Bollaert's paper, in the Intellectual Observer for May
1863}
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON. 375
the hands of men, on great foundations of stone. (1) Beyond
this hill there are two stone idols, of the human shape and
figure, the features very skilfully carved, so that they appear
to have been done by the hand of some great master. They
are so large that they seem like small giants, and it is clear
that they have on a sort of clothing different from those
now worn by the natives of these parts. They seem to
have some ornament on their heads. (2) Near these stone
statues there is another building. Their antiquity and the
want of letters, are the causes why it is not known who
built such vast foundations, and how much time has since
elapsed; for at present there is only a wall very well
built, and which must have been standing for many ages.
Some of the stones are much worn. At this part there are
stones of such enormous size that it causes wonder to think
of them, and to reflect how human force can have sufficed to
move them to the place where we see them, being so large.
Many of these stones are carved in different ways, some of
them having the shape of the human body, which must have
1. It is 918 feet long, 400 broad, and 100 to 120 in height.
2 The head of one of these statues is 3 feet 6 inches long, from the
point of the beard to the upper part of the ornamental head dress ; and
from the nose to the back of the head it measures 2 feet 7 inches. It is
adorned with a species of round cap, 1 foot 7 inches high, and 2 feet
5 inches in width. In the upper part are certain wide vertical bands,
and in the lower are symbohcal figures with himian faces. From the
eyes, which are large and round, two wide bands, each with three double
circles, project to the chin. From the outer part of each eye a band
descends, adorned with two squares terminating in a serpent. The nose
is shghtly prominent, siuTounded on the lower side by a wide semicircular
band, and terminating towards the inner side of the eyes in two corners.
The mouth forms a transverse oval, garnished with sixteen teeth. From
the imder hp projects, in the form of a beard, six bands, towards the
edge of the cliin. The ear is represented by a semi-lunar figure in a
square, and in the fore-part of it is a vertical band with three squares,
terminating in the head of a wild beast. On the neck there are many'
himian figures. The sculpture of this head is very remarkable. Antiguedades Peruanas, p. 295.
376 THE TEAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
been their idols. Near the wall there are many holes and hollow
places in the ground. In another, more to the westward,
there are other ancient remains, among them many doorways,
with their jambs, lintels, and thresholds, all of one stone. (1)
But what I noted most particularly, when I wandered about
over these ruins writing down what I saw, was that from
these great doorways there came out other still larger stones,
upon which the doorways were formed, some of them thirty
feet broad, fifteen or more long, and six in thickness. The
whole of this, with the doorway and its jambs and lintel, was
all one single stone. The work is one of grandeur and
magnificence, when well considered. For myself I fail to
understand with what instruments or tools it can have been
done ; for it is very certain that before these great stones
could be brought to perfection and left as we see them, the
tools must have been much better than those now used by
the Indians. It is to be noted, from what now appears of
these edifices, that they were not completed, for there is
nothing but these portals, and other stones of strange big-
1. Of these huge monolithic doorways there is one block of hard trachytic
rock measuring 10 feet in height by 13 wide, and another 7 feet
in height. In the former block a doorway is cut, which is 6 feet 4 inches
high, and 3 feet 2 inches wide. On its eastern side there is a cornice,
in the centre of which a human figure is carved. The head is almost
square, and there proceed from it several rays, amongst which four
snakes can be discerned. The arms are extended, and each hand holds
a snake with a crowned head. The body is covered with an embroidered garment,
and the short feet rest upon a pedestal, also ornamented
with symbolical figures. On each side of this figure there are
a number of small squares on the cornice, in three rows, each containing
a human figure in profile with a walking-stick in the hand. Each
row has sixteen figures, the central row with birds' heads. Antiguedades
Peruanas p. 296.
Acosta says that he measured one of the great stones at Tiahuanaco,
and found it to be 38 feet long, 18 broad, and 6 deep, Historia Natural
de las Indias, lib. vi, cap. 14, p. 419.
(In the Intellectual Observer for May 1863, there is an excellent engraving
of one of the great monolithic doorways at Tiahuanaco, to illustrate a paper by Mr. Bollaert.)
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON. 377
ness which I saw, some of them shaped aud dressed ready
to be placed on the edifice, which was a little on one side.
Here there was a great idol of stone, which must have been
placed there to be worshipped. It is rumoured that some
gold was found near this idol ; and all round there are more
stones, large and small, all dressed and fitted like those
already described. (1)
1. The famous ruins of Tiahuanaco, generally considerefl to be long
anterior to the time of the Yncas, appear, like those at Ollantay-tambo,
to be remains of edifices which were never completed.
Garcilasso de la Vega gives the following account of Tiahuanaco.
"Amongst other works in this place, one of them is a hill, made artifi-
cially, and so high that the fact of its having been made by man causes
astonishment ; and, that it might not be loosened, it was built upon great
foundations of stone. It is not known why this edifice was made. In
another part, away from the hill, there were two figures of giants carved
in stone, with long robes down to the ground, and caps on their heads :
all well worn by the hand of time, which proves their great antiquity.
There is also an enormous wall of stones, so large that the greatest wonder
is caused to imagine how human force could have raised them to the
place where they now are. For there are no rocks nor quarries within a
great distance, from whence they could have been brought. In other
parts there are grand edifices, and what causes most astonishment are some
great doorways of stone, some of them made out of one single stone. The
marvel is increased by their wonderful size, for some of them were found
to measure 30 feet in length, 15 in breadth, and 6 in depth. And these
stones, with their doorways, are all of one single piece, so that it cannot
be understood with what instruments or tools they can have been worked.
"The natives say that all these edifices were built before the time of the
Yncas, and that the Yncas built the fortress of Cuzco in imitation of them.
They know not who erected them, but have heard their forefathers say
that all these wonderful works were completed in a single night. The
ruins appear never to have been finished, but to have been merely the commencement
of what the founders intended to have built. All the above
is from Pedro de Cieza de Leon, in his 105th chapter ; to which I propose
to add some further particular obtained from a schoolfellow of mine,
a priest named Diego de Alcobasa (who I may call my brother, for we
were born in the same house, and his father brought me up). Amongst
other accounts, which he and others have sent me from my native laud,
he says the following respecting these great edifices of Tiahuanaco.
' In Tiahuanaco, in the province of Collao, amongst other things, there
are some ancient ruins worthy of immortal memory. They are near the
lake called by the Spaniards Chucuito, the proper name of which is
Chuquivitu. Here there are some very grand edifices, and amongst them
there is a square court, 15 brazas each way, with walls two stories high. On
one side of this court there is a hall 45 feet long by 22 broad, apparently once
covered, in the same way as those buildings you have seen in the house of
the sun at Cuzco, with a roof of straw. The walls, roofs, floor, and doorways
are all of one single piece, carved out of a rock, and the walls of
the court and of the hall are three-quarters of a yard in breadth. The
roof of the hall, though it appears to be thatch, is really of stone. For
as the Indians cover their houses with thatch, in order that this might
appear like the rest, they have combed and carved the stone so that it
resembles a roof of thatch. The waters of the lake wash the walls of the
court. The natives say that this and the other buildings were dedicated
to the Creator of the universe. There are also many other stones carved
into the shape of men and women so naturally that they appear to be
alive, some drinking with cups in their hands, others sitting, others
standing, and others walking in the stream which flows by the walls.
There are also statues of women with their infants in their laps, others
with them on their backs, and in a thousand other postures. The Indians
say that for the great sins of the people of those times, and because they
stoned a man who was passing through the province, they were all converted into these statues."
" Thus far are the words of Diego de Alcobasa, who has been a vicar
and preacher to the Indians in many provinces of this kingdom, having
been sent by his superiors from one part to another : for, being a mestizo
and native of Cuzco, he knows the language of the Indians better than
others who are born in the country, and his labours bear more fruit."
The part of the country in which Tia-huanaco is situated, was first
conquered by Mayta Ccapac, the fourth Ynca. The name is derived
from a circumstance connected with the conquest. It is said that, while
the Ynca was engaged in this campaign against the Aymara nation, and
being encamped amongst the ruins, a Canari Indian, serving as a chasqui
or courier, arrived from Cuzco in an extraordinarily short space of time.
The Ynca exclaimed Tia (Be seated) Huanaco : the huanaco being the
swiftest anunal in Peru. Thus, like Luxor, and so many other famous
places, these wonderful ruins have received a comparatvely modern name,
which has no real connection with their history.
378 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
There are other things to be said concerning Tiahuanaco,
which I pass over, concluding with a statement of my belief
that this ruin is the most ancient in all Peru. It is
asserted that these edifices were commenced before the
time of the Yncas, and I have heard some Indians affirm
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON. 379
that the Yncas built their grand edifices at Cuzco on the
plan which they had observed at the wall near these ruins.
They even say that the first Yncas thought of establishing
their court at Tiahuanaco. Another remarkable thing is,
that in all this district there are no quarries whence the
numerous stones can have been brought, the carrying of
which must have required many people. I asked the
natives, in presence of Juan de Varagas (who holds them
in encomienda), whether these edifices were built in the time
of the Yncas, and they laughed at the question, affirming
that they were made before the Yncas ever reigned, but
that they could not say who made them. They added that
they had heard from their fathers that all we saw was done
in one night. From this, and from the fact that they also
speak of bearded men on the island of Titicaca, and of others
who built the edifice of Vinaque, (1) it may, perhaps, be inferred
that, before the Yncas reigned, there was an intelligent
race who came from some unknown part, and who did
these things. Being few, and the natives many, they may
all have been killed in the wars.
Seeing that all these things are hidden from us, we may
well say. Blessed be the invention of letters ! by virtue of
which the memory of events endures for many ages, and
their fame flies through the universe. We are not ignorant
of what we desire to know when we hold letters in our
hands. But in this new world of the Indies, as they knew
nothing of letters, we are in a state of bhndness concerning
many things. Apart from these ruins there are the buildings
of the Yncas, and the house where Manco Ynca, the
son of Huayna Ccapac, was born. Close by are the tombs
of the native chiefs of this place, as high as towers, broad
and square, with doors towards the rising sun.
1. See chapter lxxxvii.
380 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
CHAPTER 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.
From the village of Tiahuuanaco the road leads to Yiaclia, a
distance of seven leagues, leaving the villages called Cacay-
avire, Caquinhora, Mallama, and others on the left hand ;
but it seems to me of little use to name them all. In the
midst of them is the plain near another village called
Huarina ; the place where, in the days that are passed,
there was a battle between Diego Centeno and Gonzalo
Pizarro. (1) It was a memorable event, as I shall show in the
proper place, and many captains and knights of the King's
party fell, fighting under the banner of the captain Diego
Centeno, as well as some of those who were the accomplices of Gonzalo Pizarro. God was served by the rebel
being the victor in this battle. To reach the city of La
Paz, it is necessary to leave the royal road of the Yncas,
and to go to the village of Laxa. The city is a day's journey
further on, built in the narrow part of a small valley formed
by the mountains. It was founded in the most level part
that could be selected, for the sake of the wood and water,
of which there is much in this small valley, as the climate is
warmer than on the plains of the Collao, which are higher,
and where there are none of the things necessary for a
large city. Notwithstanding all this, the citizens have
thought of moving nearer to the great lake of Titicaca,
between the villages of Huaqui and Tiahuanaco. Yet the
city has remained in the valley of Chuquiapu where, in
former years, great quantities of gold were taken out of the
1. On the 26th of October 1547 Centeno mustered a thousand men, of
whom 250 were mounted. Gonzalo Pizarro's force barely amounted to 400
infantry and 85 cavalry. Pizarro gained a complete victory, and 350 of
Centeno's followers were killed.
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON.
381
rich mines that are there. The Yncas held this Cliuquiapu
in great estimation. Near it is the valley of Oyune, where
they say that there is a great treasure hidden in a temple
on the summit of a snowy mountain, but it cannot be found,
nor is it known where it is.
This city of La Paz was founded by the captain Alonzo
de Mendoza, in the name of the Emperor our lord, when
the licentiate Pedro de la Gasca was president of this kingdom,
in the year of our redemption 1549. (1) In the valley
formed by the mountains, where the city is built, they raise
a few trees, some maize, and the pulses and garden stuffs
of Spain. The Spaniards are here well supphed with provisions
and with fish from the lake, as well as with plenty
of fruit from the warm valleys, where they also grow a
great quantity of wheat, and breed goats, cows, and other
animals. This city has very rugged and difficult approaches,
being, as I have said, amongst the mountains. A small
river of excellent water flows near it.
The distance from this city of La Paz to the town of
Plata, which is in the province of Charcas, is ninety leagues,
a little more or less. I will now return to the royal road
which I had left, and I have to say that it goes from Viacha
to Hayohayo, where there were great buildings for the
Yncas. Beyond Hayohayo is Sicasica, to which point the
province of Colloa extends. On both sides of these villages
there are several more. Eleven leagues beyond Sicasica is
the village of Caracollo, which is built in a certain plain near
the great province of Paria, which was highly esteemed by
1. The president Gasca ordered Don Alonzo de Mendoza, an officer who
had come over to him from the party of Gonzalo Pizarro, to found a new
city south of lake Titicaca, which was to be called " La Ciudad de
Nuestra Senora de la Paz ;" to commemorate the peace which had been
established, after the overthrow of the rebel Gonzalo Pizarro. It was
deemed convenient that there should be a Spanish settlement between
Cuzco and the rich silver-yielding province of Charcas, and thus the
building of the city of La Paz was commenced. It is now one of the
principal towns in the modern Republic of Bolivia.
382 THE TEAYELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
the Yncas. The natives of this province of Paria are
clothed like all the rest and they wear, as an ornamental
head-dress, a small woollen cap. The chiefs were much
reverenced by the Indians, and there were royal edifices
and store-houses of the Yncas, and a temple of the sun.
Here there are a great many lofty tombs where they buried
their dead. The villages of Indians subject to Paria are
Caponota and many others, some near the lake, and some
in different parts of the district. Beyond Paria are the
villages of Pocoata, Macha, Coracora, Moromoro, and near
the Andes there are other provinces and great chiefs.
CHAPTER CVII.
Of the founding of the town of Plata, wliich is situated in the province
of Charcas.
The noble and loyal town of Plata, a settlement of Spaniards
in Chuquisaca (in the province of Charcas), is very famous
throughout the kingdoms of Peru, and in other parts of the
world, for the great treasure which, in these latter years,
has been brought thence to Spain. This town is built in
the best situation that could be found, in a place, as I have
abeady said, which is called Chuquisaca. (1) The climate is
temperate, and well suited for the growth of fruit trees,
vines, wheat and barley, and other things. At present the
farms and lands are very valuable by reason of the rich
mines that have been discovered at Potosi. Several rivers
of very good water flow near, and many cows, mares, and
goats are bred on the estates of the Spaniards. Some of
the citizens of this town are among the richest and most
prosperous people in the Indies, for in the years 1548 and
1. It is now known as the city of Chuquisaca, or Sucre, and is the capital
of the republic of Bolivia.
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON. 383
1549 a repartimiento belonging to the general Pedro de
Hinojosa (1) yielded a rent of more than one hundred thousand
castellanos, and others yielded eighty thousand, some even
more. The treasure that was found in those times was a
wonderful thing. This town of Plata was settled and founded
by the captain Peransurez, in the name of his Majesty the
emperor and king our lord, the Adelantado Don Francisco
Pizarro being his governor and captain-general of Peru, in
the year 1538. Besides the villages already mentioned,
this town has jurisdiction over Totora, Tapacan, Sipisipe,
Cochabamba, the Carangues, Quillanca, Chayanta, Chaqui,
the Chichas, and many others, all very rich, and some, like
the valley of Cochabamba, suited for the growth of wheat
and maize, and for breeding cattle. Beyond this town is
the province of Tuquma, and the regions which were entered
and discovered by the captains Felipe Gutierrez, Diego de
Eojas, and Nicolas de Heredia, in which direction they
discovered the river of La Plata, and reached the fortress
which was built by Sebastian Cabota. Diego de Rojas
died of a wound from an arrow poisoned with the herb used
by the Indians, and afterwards Francisco de Mendoza
seized Felipe Gutierrez, and obliged him to return to Peru.
The same Francisco de Mendoza, when he returned to
discover the river, was killed, together with his lieutenant
1 Pedro de Hinojosa is first heard of as fighting bravely against
Almagro the younger, in the battle of Chupas. He afterwards joined
the fortunes of Gonzalo Pizarro, and that ill-fated chief entrusted him
with the command of Panama and of the fleet. On the arrival of the
president Gasca from Spain, Hinojosa, after some months of hesitation,
betrayed his trust, and handed over the fleet to the wily ecclesiastic on
November 19th, 1546. He was rewarded by being appointed Gasca's
general by land and sea, and commanded the troops at the final overthrow
of his old commander on the plain of Xaquixaguana. Gasca
granted Gonzalo Pizarro's valuable estates and mines in Charcas to
Hinojosa. He was also apjiointed corregidor of Charcas, where he was
assassinated two years afterwards in a mutiny headed by Sebastian de
Castilla.
384 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
Ruy Sanchez de Hinojosa by Nicolas de Heredia. Thus
these parts were not entirely discovered owing to the
quarrels and feuds amongst the explorers, who returned to
Peru. Here they met with Lope de Mendoza, the lieutenant
of Diego Centeno, who was flying from the fury of
Carbajal, Gonzalo Pizarro's captain ; and joined him. They
were defeated by the same Carbajal at a village called
Pocona, and soon afterwards Lope de Mendoza and Nicolas
de Heredia fell into his power, and were put to death by
him, with others. (1)
Further on is the government of Chile, of which Pedro de
Valdivia is the governor, and other lands bordering on the
strait which is called Magellanes. But as the affairs of
Chile are important, and require a special narrative, I have
only written what I saw between Uraba and Potosi, which
is near this town, a road of such length that it must be
(from the borders of Uraba to the further end of the town
of Plata) a good two thousand two hundred leagues, as I
have already stated. I shall not go further in this my first
part, except to say that the Indians subject to the town of
Plata have the same customs as those of other parts. After
they were conquered by the Yncas, their villages were well
ordered, and both men and women wore clothes. They
worshipped the sun and other things, and had temples in
which they performed their sacrifices. Many of them, such
as the Charcas and Carangues, were very warlike. From
1. Before the defeat and death of the viceroy Blasco Nunez de Vela,
near Quito in January 1546, Gonzalo Pizarro had sent his lieutenant
Carbajal to reduce the province of Charcas, and put down a revolt
headed by Diego Centeno and Lope de Mendoza. Centeno fled, closely
pursued by Carbajal, and hid himself in a cave somewhere near Arequipa
for eight months. The aged veteran Francisco de Carbajal, having run
this fox to earth, then marched into Charcas, and captured Lope de
Mendoza and Nicolas de Heredia, both of whom he hung. Carbajal
sent the heads of his victims to Arequipa, while he busied himself in collecting
silver from the rich mines of Potosi, to supply the needs of his
commander.
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON. 386
this town captains and soldiers set out to serve his Majesty
several times during the late wars, and they served loyally.
With this I make an end of what I have to say touching
the founding of the town of Plata.
CHAPTER CVIII.
Of the riches in Porco, and how there are large veins of silver near
that town.
It appears from what the Indians now say that, in the
times when the Kings Yncas governed this kingdom of Peru,
they obtained a great quantity of silver from some parts
of this province of Charcas, and Indians were stationed
there, who gave the metal to the overseers or their deputies. (1)
In the hill of Porco, which is near the town of Plata, there
were mines out of which the Indians got silver for their lords.
Much of the silver which was in the temple of the sun,
called Ccuri-cancha, is said to have been taken from this
hill, and the Spaniards have also got a great deal out of it.
In the present year a mine belonging to the captain Hernando
Pizarro has been cleaned out, which was worth more
than two hundred thousand pesos of gold every year, Antonio Alvarez,
an inhabitant of this town, showed me, in the
City of the Kings, a little ore taken from this hill of Porco,
which appeared to be nearly all silver. In short, Porco was
in former times extremely rich, and is so still, and it may be
believed that it always will be. In many neighbouring
hills, within the jurisdiction of this town of Plata, rich
1. The ancient Peruvians knew of gold, silver, copper, tin, and quickilver.
They took the silver from mines which were not very deep, abandoning
them as soon as the hardness of the ore offered a resistance sufficient
to withstand their imperfect tools. They not only knew native silver, but
also its chemical combinations, such as the sulphate, antimonial silver, etc.
They also knew how to extract the pure metal from these compounds by
fusion, or in portable stoves.
386 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
mines of gold and silver have been found. It may be held
for certain that there is so much of this metal that if there
were those to seek and extract it, they would get little less
than in the province of Biscay, they get iron. But as it
must be got out by Indians, and as the country is too cold
for Negroes, there are reasons enough why such great
wealth is lost. I have also to say that in some parts of the
district belonging to the town of Plata there are rivers
which bring down very fine gold. In the Chichas, villages
given in encomienda to Hernando Pizarro, and subject to
this town, it is said that there are some silver mines ; and
great rivers rise in the Andes, near which, if gold mines
were sought for, I hold that they would be found.
CHAPTER 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.
The mines of Porco, and others in this kingdom, have been
open since the time of the Yncas, when the veins whence
they extract the metal were discovered ; but those which
they have found in the hill of Potosi (concerning which I
now desire to write) were never worked until the year
1546. A Spaniard named Villaroel was searching for veins
of metal with some Indians, when he came upon this wealth
in a high hill, being the most beautiful and best situated in
all that district. As the Indians call all hills and lofty
eminences Potosi, it retained that name. Although Gonzalo
Pizarro was then waging war against the viceroy, and the
1. The gold mines of Tipuani, to the eastward of the Andes of BoUvia,
are the richest in South America. See an account of the method of
working them in Bonelli's Travels in Bolivia i, p. 268.
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON. 387
whole kingdom was troubled with this rebellion, the skirts
of the hill were soon peopled, and many large houses were
built. The Spaniards made their principal settlement in this
place, the court of justice was removed to it, and the town of
Plata was almost deserted. They discovered five very rich
veins on the upper part of the hill, called the ''rich vein,' the
"vein of tin, etc. This wealth became so famous, that Indians
came from all parts to extract silver from the hill. The climate
is cold, and there are no inhabited places in the vicinity.
When the Spaniards had taken possession, they began to
extract the silver, and he who had a mine gave each Indian
who entered it a marc, or, if he was very rich, two marcs
every week. So many people came to work the mines, that
the place appeared like a great city. That the greatness
of these mines may be known, I will say what I saw in the
year of our Lord 1549 in this place, when the licentiate
Polo (1) was corregidor of the town of Plata for his Majesty.
Every Saturday the metal was melted down in his house,
and of the royal fifths there came to his Majesty thirty
thousand or twenty-five thousand pesos, and sometimes
forty thousand. And while extracting such immense wealth,
that the fifth of the silver, which belonged to his Majesty,
came to more than one hundred and twenty thousand castellanos (2)
every month, they said there was little silver, and
1. The licentiate Polo de Ondegardo was appointed corregidor of
Charcas by the president Gasca, and subsequently of Cuzco, where he
remained for several years. He was the author of two Relaciones, or
reports to the government, the first addressed to the viceroy Marquis of
Canete in 1561, and the second to the Count of Nieva. They contain
an account of the laws, habits, religion, and policy of the Yncas. Unfortunately
these valuable documents have never been printed, and Mr
Prescott obtained copies both of them and of the equally important
manuscript of Sarmiento from Lord Kingsborough's collection, through
the agency of Mr Rich. Their pubhcation would be a great boon to
the student of ancient South American civilisation. See Prescott's
Peru, i, p. 162, etc.
2. A castellano was worth about £2 12s 6d. of our money.
388 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
that the mines were not well worked. Yet this metal,
which was brought to be melted, was only what belonged to
the Christians, and not even all that, for a great deal was
taken in pure bits and carried off ; and it may be believed
that the Indians took a great deal to their own homes. It
may with truth be asserted that in no part of the world
could so rich a hill be found, and that no prince receives
such profits and rents as this famous town of Plata. From
the year 1548 to 1551 the royal fifths were valued at more
than three millions of ducats, which is more than the Spaniards
got from Atahualpa, and more than was found in the
city of Cuzco, when it was first occupied. (1) It appears that
the silver ore cannot be made to run by the bellows, nor
can it be converted into silver by means of fire at Potosi.
In Porco, and in other parts of the kingdom where they
extract metal, they make great plates of silver, and the
metal is purified and separated from the dross by fire, in
which operation large bellows are used. But in Potosi,
although this plan has been tried, it has never succeeded ;
1. Acosta says that in his time there were four principal veins of silver
on the hill of Potosi, called La Rica, Centeno, Estano (tin), and Mendietu.
They were all on the east side, and ran in a north and south direction.
There were many other smaller veins which branch off from these four,
and in each vein there were several mines. In La Rica there were
seventy-eight mines, which were very deep ; and to remedy the evils
caused by their great depth, horizontal excavations, called socabones,
were made in the sides of the hill, and continued until they met the veins.
The mines of Potosi were discovered by an Indian named Hualpa, a
native of Chumbivilica near Cuzco. He was clmibing up a steep part of
the hill in chase of deer, and helping his ascent by catching hold of the
quenua shrubs {Polylepis tomentella, Wedd.) which grow there. One
of the shrubs came up by the roots, and disclosed a quantity of native
silver, which was the commencement of the vein called La Rica. He
secretly worked the vein himself for some time, but eventually disclosed
the secret to a native of Xauxa, who told his master, a Spianiard of
Porco, named Villaroel, and the latter began to work the vein in April
1545. The three other principal veins were discovered between April
and August of the same year. People soon flocked from all parts to seek
their fortunes at the hill of Potosi. Acosta, lib. iv, cap, 6, 7, 8.
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON. 389
and though great masters have endeavoured to work with
bellows, their diligence has availed them nothing.
As a remedy may be found in this world for all evils,
there has not been wanting an invention for extracting this
metal, which is the strangest imaginable. The Indians,
who were so ingenious, found that in some parts the silver
could not be extracted with the aid of bellows, as was the
case at Potosi. They, therefore, made certain moulds of
clay, in the shape of a flower-pot in Spain, with many air-
holes in all parts. Charcoal was put into these moulds,
with the metal on the top, and they were then placed on the
part of the hill where the wind blew strongest, and thus the
metal was extracted, which was then purified and refined
with small bellows. In this manner all the metal that has
been taken from the hill is extracted. The Indians go to
the heights with the ores to extract the silver, and they call
the moulds Guayras. (1) In the night there are so many of
them on all parts of the hill, that it looks like an illumination.
When the wind is fresh they extract much silver,
but when there is no wind they cannot by any means
extract silver ; so that, as the wind is profitable in the sea
for navigating, it is so here for extracting silver. As the
Indians have no overseers when they carry the metal up to
the heights, it must be supposed that they have enriched
themselves, and taken much silver to their own homes.
This is the reason that Indians have come from all parts of
the kingdom to this settlement of Potosi, to take advantage
of the great opportunities offered for enriching themselves. (2)
1. Huayra is "wind" or "air" in Quichua.
2. Acosta tells us that, when he wrote in 1608, most of the silver was
extracted from the ore by means of quicksilver. Formerly, however,
he says that there Avere more than six thousand huayras on the sides and
summit of the hill of Potosi. " The huayras were small ovens in which the
metal was melted, and to see them burning at night with a red heat, and
throwing their light to a distance, was a pleasant spectacle. At present
if the number of huayras reaches to one thousand or two thousand, it is
the outside, because the melting is done on a small scale, nearly all the
metal being extracted by quicksilver." Acosta, lib. iv, cap. 9, p. 218.
The hill of Potosi is in 21° 40' S. lat., and seventeen thousand feet
above the level of the sea. The name is said to be derived from the
Aymara word Potocsi ("he who makes a noise"), because, when Huayna
Ccapac in 1462 ordered search to be made for a silver mine on the hill, a
terrible voice cried out from underground that the riches it contained
were reserved for other masters. O. de la Vega.
Zarate says, that in a short time after the discovery of the silver, seven
thousand Indians were at work, who had to give two marcs of silver to
their masters every week, which they did with such ease, that they
retained more silver for themselves than they paid to their employers.
Historia del Peru, lib. vi, cap. 4.
In 1563 Potosi was constituted a town, and was granted a coat of arms
by Philip II ; and in 1572 the viceroy Don Francisco de Toledo went in
person to this great seat of mining wealth, and established regulations
for its government. This viceroy also introduced the use of quicksilver,
a mine of which had been discovered at Huancavehca, by a Portuguese
named Enrique Garces, in 1566. Toledo also regulated and legalised
the atrocious system of mitas, or forced labour in the mines. He caused
a census to be taken of Indians in Peru, between the ages of eighteen
and fifty, the result of which gave a total of 1,677,697 men liable for
service, who were divided into 614 ayllus or lineages. Of these he
assigned a seventh part of those living in the seventeen nearest provinces,
or 11,199 Indians, to work at the mines of Potosi, under certain rules for
their protection, which were generally evaded. According to Toledo's
law, each Mitayo, or forced labourer, would only have to serve for
eighteen months during the thirty-two years that he was liable. They
were to receive twenty rials a week, and half a rial for every league of
distance between their native village and Potosi. In 1611 there was a
population of one hundred and sixty thousand inhabitants in the town of
Potosi, of whom seventy-six thousand were Indians, three thousand
Spaniards, tliirty-five thousand Creoles, forty thousand Europeans, and
six thousjind Negroes and Mulattoes. The riches accumulated by individuals
were enormous, and a man named Sinteros, "the rich," who
died in 1650, was worth twenty million dollars. Mercurio Peruano.
In 1825 there were about five thousand mouths of mines on the mountain,
of which only fifty or sixty were then worked. The upper portion
of the mountain, indeed, was so completely honeycombed, that it was
considered as nearly worked out. The lower part, about one-third of the
cone, was then hardly touched, in consequence of the number of springs
which impede the working.
390 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
CHAPTER CX
There was the richest market in the world at this hill of Potosi, at the
time when these mines were prosperous.
In all parts of this kingdom of Peru we who have travelled
over it know that there are great fairs or markets, where
the natives make their bargains. Among these the greatest
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON.
301
and richest was formerly in the city of Cuzco, for even in
the time of the Spaniards its greatness was caused by the
gold which was bought and sold there, and by the other
things of all kinds that were sent into the city. But this
market or fair at Cuzco did not equal the superb one at
Potosi where the traffic was so great that, among the
Indians alone, without including Christians, twenty-five
or thirty thousand golden pesos exchanged hands daily.
This is wonderful, and I believe that no fair in the world
can be compared to it. I saw this fair several times, and
it is held in a plain near the town. In one place there were
ccstos (bags) of coca, the most valuable product in these
parts. In another place there were bales of cloth and
fine rich shirtings. Here were heaps of maize, dried potatoes,
and other provisions, there great quantities of the
best meat in the country. This fair continued from early
morning until dusk ; and as these Indians got silver every
day, and are fond of eating and treating, especially those
who have intercourse with Spaniards, they all spent what
they got, so that people assembled from all parts with provisions
and other necessaries for their support. Many
Spaniards became rich in this settlement of Potosi by
merely employing two or three Indian women to traffic in
this fair. Great numbers of Yana-cuna, (1) who are free
Indians with the right of serving whom they please, flocked
1. Yana in Quichua, is a "companion," and also a "servant." The
word also means "black." Cuna is a particle denoting the plural number.
The Yana-cuna were a class of Indians forced to labour as domestic
servants, but with the power to choose their masters.
392 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
to the fair, and the prettiest girls from Cuzco and all parts
of the kingdom were to be met with at the fair.
I observed that many frauds were committed, and that
there was little truth spoken. The value of articles was
not great, and cloths, linens, and Hollands were sold almost
as cheap as in Spain. Indeed, I saw things sold for so
small a price, that they would have been considered cheap
in Seville. Many men, possessed of great wealth, owing
to their insatiable avarice, lost it by this traffic of buying
and selling, some of whom fled to Chile, Tucuman, and
other parts, from fear of their debts. There were also many
disputes and lawsuits among the traffickers.
The climate of Potosi is healthy, especially for the Indians,
for few or none fall ill there. The silver is conveyed by the
royal road to Cuzco, or to the city of Arequipa, which is
near the port of Quilca. Most of it is carried by sheep,
without which it would be very difficult to travel in this
kingdom, owing to the great distance between the cities,
and the want of other beasts.
CHAPTER CXI.
Of the sheep, huanacus, and vicunas, which they have in most parts of
the mountains of Peru.
It appears to me that in no part of the world have sheep
like those of the Indies been found or heard of. They are
especially met with in this kingdom and in the government
of Chile, as well as in some parts of the province of the Rio
de la Plata. It may be that they will also be found in
parts that are still unknown. These sheep are among the
most excellent creatures that God has created, and the most
useful. It would seem that the Divine Majesty took care
THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO DE CIEZA DE LEON. 398
to create these animals, that the people of this country
might be able to live and sustain themselves, for by no
other means could these Indians (I speak of the mountaineers of Peru)
preserve their lives without these sheep,
or others which would supply them with the same necessaries.
In this chapter I shall relate how this is.
In the valleys on the coast, and in other warm regions,
the natives sow cotton, and make their clothes from it, so
that they feel no want, because the cotton cloth is suitable
for their climate.
But in the mountainous parts, such as the Collao and
Charcas, no tree will grow, and if the cotton was sown it
would yield nothing, so that the natives, unless they obtained
it by trading, could have no clothing. To supply
this need, the Giver of all good things, who is God our
Lord, created such vast flocks of these animals which we
call sheep, that, if the Spaniards had not diminished their
number in the wars, there would be no possibility of counting them,
such would have been their increase in all parts.
But, as I have already said, the civil wars of the Spaniards
have been like a great pestilence, both to the Indians and
to their flocks.
The natives call these sheep llamas, and the males urcos.
Some are white, others black, and others grey. Some of
them are as large as small donkeys, with long legs, broad
bellies, and a neck of the length and shape of that of a
camel. Their heads are large, like those of Spanish sheep.
The flesh of these animals is very good when it is fat, and
the lambs are better and more savoury than those of Spain.
The llamas are very tame, and carry two or three arrohas
weight very well. Truly it is very pleasant to see the
Indians of the Collao go forth with their beasts, and return
with them to their homes in the evening, laden with fuel.
They feed on the herbage of the plains, and when they
complain they make a noise like the groaning of camels.
394 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO CIEZA DE LEON
There is another kind called huanacus, of the same shape
and appearance, but they are very large and wander over
the plains in a wild state, running and jumping with such
speed that the dog which could overtake them must be
very swift. Besides these, there is another sort of llamas,
called vicunas. These are more swift than the huanacus,
though smaller. They wander over the uninhabited wilds,
and eat the herbage which Grod has created there. The
wool of these vicunas is excellent, and finer than the wool
of merino sheep in Spain. I know not whether cloth can be
made from it, but the cloths that were made for the lords of
this land are worth seeing. The flesh of these huanacus
and vicunas tastes like that of wild sheep, but it is good.
In the city of La Paz I ate a dinner off one of these fat
huanacus, in the inn kept by the captain Alonzo de Mendoza.
and it seemed to me to be the best I ever had in my life.
There is yet another kind of tame llamas, which are called
alpacas, but they are very ugly and woolly. They are of the
shape of llamas, but smaller, and their lambs when young
are very like those of Spain. Each of these llamas brings
forth once in the year, and no more. (1)
1. " The domestic animals," says Padre Bias Valera, "which God has
given to these Indians of Peru, are bland and gentle, like their masters,
so that a child can lead them where he likes. There are two kinds, one
larger than the other. The Indians call the animals llamas, and their
shepherds llama-michec. They are of all colours, like the horses of Spain,
when domesticated, but the wild kind, called huanacus, have only one
colour, which is a washed-out chestnut. The llama stands as high as a
deer of Spain, but no animal does it resemble more than a camel without
a hump, and a third part of the size. The neck of the llama is long and
smooth. The Indians used the skin, softened with grease, as soles for
their sandals, but, as they had not the art of tanning, they took them off
in crossing brooks or in rainy weather. The Spaniards make very good
reins of it for their horses. The skin is also used for girths and cruppers
of saddles, and for whips. Besides this, the animals are useful to both
Indians and Spaniards as beasts of burden, to carry merchandise
whithersoever they list, but they are generally used on the road from
Cuzco to Putosi, a distance of near two hundred leagues. They carry
three or four "arrobas" (75lb or 100 lbs.) weight, and only make journeys
of three leagues a day. When they are tired they lie down,
and nothing will induce them to stir, for if any one tries to force
them to rise, they spit in his face. They have no other means of defending
themselves, having no horns like a stag. That they may not be
easily tired, some forty or fifty unladen animals accompany the drove,
that they may take their turn with the burdens. Their flesh is the best
in the woirld ; it is tender, wholesome, and savoury. The doctors order
the flesh of their lambs of four or five months, for sick persons, in preference to chickens.
" The Yncas possessed enormous flocks of llamas of all colours, and
each colour had a special name. The flocks were divided according to
their colours, and if a lamb was born of a different colour from its
parents, it was passed into the flock of its own colour. The Quipus had
knots for each flock, according to the colour, and thus an account of their
number was easily kept.
" There is another domestic kind, called Paco. The Pacos are not reared
for carrying burdens, but for the sake of their flesh, and for their wool,
which is excellent and very long. The Indians make very fine cloths of
it, dotted with rich colours. The Indians do not use the milk of either
of the kinds, nor do they make cheese of it. Indeed, they only have sufficient
to nourish their lambs, and the Indians call the milk, the udder,
and the act of sucking, by the same word nuñu.
" The wild kind was called huanacu, and these huanacus are of the
same size and form as the llamas. Their flesh is good, though not so
good as that of the domesticated llama. The males always remain on
lofty heights, while the females come down into the plains to feed, and
when the males see any one coming, they bleat like the neighing of a
horse, to warn the females, and they gallop away with the females in
front. Their wool is short and rough, yet it was also used by the Indians
for their cloths. There is another wild kind called vicuna a delicate
animal with plenty of fine wool. Tlie vicuna stands higher than a
goat, and the colour of its wool is a clear chestnut. They are so fleet that
no dog can overtake them, and frequent the loftiest fastnesses near the
line of snow." G. de la Vega i, lib. viii, caps. 16 and 17.
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