Concerning the provinces between Tamboblanco and the city of San Miguel, the first city founded by the Christian Spaniards in Peru; and what there is to be said of the natives.

AS I have undertaken in this work to satisfy the reader on all points worthy of note concerning the kingdom of Peru, although it will be great trouble to me to stop at one place and return to another, still I shall not fail to do so when it is necessary. In this place I shall treat of the foundation of San Miguel,[320] the first city founded by Christian Spaniards in Peru, and of the valleys and sandy deserts in this great kingdom, leaving the grand road over the mountains once more. I shall fully describe these provinces and valleys on the coast, along which runs another grand road made by the Kings Yncas, of the same magnitude as that in the mountains. I shall give an account of the Yuncas,[321] and of their great edifices, as well as of the information I obtained concerning the secret of its never raining in these valleys and sandy deserts, and of the great abundance of things necessary for the support of man. Having done all this, I shall return to my mountain road, and follow it until I come to the end of this first part. But, before descending to the coast, travelling along the same royal mountain road, we come to the provinces of Calva and Ayavaca, which have the forests of Bracamoros on the east, and the city of San Miguel, of which I shall treat presently, on the west.

In the province of Caxas there are great buildings, erected by the orders of the Yncas, and formerly occupied by a governor and a number of Mitimaes, who had charge of the collection of tribute. Beyond Caxas is the province of Huancabamba, where there were still larger buildings than in Caxas, for here the Yncas had their forces, and amongst the buildings there is a great fortress which I saw, but it was then in ruins. In Huancabamba there was a temple of the sun, with a number of women. The people of the surrounding districts came to worship and offer gifts at this temple, and the virgins and priests were held in great reverence and esteem. The tribute of the chiefs of all these provinces was brought here, and was forwarded to Cuzco when orders came to that effect. Beyond Huancabamba there are other buildings and villages, some of them under the jurisdiction of Loxa, while the natives of others have been granted in encomienda to the citizens of San Miguel. In times past these Indians had wars amongst themselves, and for very slight causes they killed each other and seized the women. It is even said that they went naked, and that some of them ate human flesh, like the natives of the province of Popayan. When the Yncas conquered and subjugated them, they lost many of these customs, and adopted the polity which they now have. Thus their villages were ordered after a different fashion to that which had formerly prevailed. They wear clothes made of fine wool from their flocks, and now instead of eating human flesh, they detest the practice and hold it to be a great sin. Although they are so near the tribes of Puerto Viejo and Guayaquil, they do not commit the abominable sin. They declare that, before they were subjugated by the Ynca Yupanqui and by Tupac Ynca his son, who was father of Huayna Ccapac, and grandfather of Atahualpa, they defended their liberties so resolutely, that many thousands were killed, and as many of the Orejones of Cuzco; but they were so closely pressed that, to escape destruction, certain of their chiefs, in the name of the rest, gave in their submission to the Lords Yncas. The men of these districts are dark, and good looking, and both they and the women clothe themselves in the way they learnt from the Yncas, their ancient lords. In some parts they wear the hair very long, and in others short and plaited in very small plaits. If any hairs grow on the chin, they pull them out, and, strange to say, this is done wherever Indians are met with in these lands. They all understand the general language of Cuzco, but they also have their own particular languages, as I have already said. There used to be great flocks of llamas, the sheep of Peru, but now there are very few, owing to the way the Spaniards have destroyed them. The clothes of these Indians are of llama wool, and also of vicuÑa wool, which is better and finer. There are also some guanacos, which frequent the desert heights. Those who cannot get clothes made of wool, use cotton. In the valleys and inhabited meadows there are many rivers and small brooks, and some fountains with good and wholesome water. In all parts there is herbage for flocks and plenty of provisions for man. There are priests in most of these districts, who, if they live well and abstain from evil, as their religion requires, will reap great fruits. By the will of God, this is done in the greater part of the kingdom, and many Indian lads have become Christians, who, by their example, attract others.

The ancient temples, which are generally called huacas, are now ruined and desecrated, the idols are broken, and the devil is thus badly wounded in these places. Where he was once, for the sins of men, so reverenced and esteemed, the cross is now planted. Truly we Spaniards should ever give infinite praise to our Lord God for this.