In which it is declared how that, beyond the province of Huancabamba, there is that of Caxamarca, and other large and very populous provinces.

IN most of the provinces of this great kingdom the natives imitate each other so closely that, in many things, one may say that they all seem to be one people; and for this reason I touch briefly upon such matters in some parts of my work, because I have treated more fully of them in others.

Now that I have finished all I have to say concerning the coast valleys, I shall return to the mountains. I have already written an account of the villages and edifices from Quito to Loxa, and of the province of Huancabamba, where I halted, in order to treat of the foundation of San Miguel and of other subjects. Returning now to the former route, it seems to me that the distance from Huancabamba to the province of Caxamarca is fifty leagues, a little more or less. This province is famous as the scene of Atahualpa’s imprisonment, and is noted throughout the kingdom for its riches. The natives of Caxamarca state that they were much esteemed by their neighbours before the Yncas subdued them, and that they had their temples and places of worship in the loftier parts of the mountains. Some of them say that they were first subdued by the Ynca Yupanqui, others that it was not so, but that his son Tupac Ynca Yupanqui first conquered them. Whoever it may have been, it is stated positively that before he became lord of Caxamarca, they killed the greater part of his troops, and that they were brought under his yoke more by intrigues and by soft and winning speeches than by force.[394] The native chiefs of this province were much respected by their Indians, and they had many women. One of the wives was the principal, and her son, if she had one, succeeded in the lordship. When the chiefs died the same customs were observed as have already been described. Their wives and riches were buried with them, and there was much and long-continued lamentation. Their temples and places of worship were much venerated, and the blood of sheep and lambs was offered up as sacrifice. They say that the ministers of these temples conversed with the devil; and when they celebrated their festivals, they assembled a vast concourse of people in a clear open space, and performed dances, during which they consumed no small quantity of wine made from maize. They all go dressed in mantles and rich tunics, and wear a peculiar head-dress as a distinguishing mark, being narrow cords in the manner of a fillet.

When the Yncas had subdued this province of Caxamarca, it is said that they valued it greatly, and ordered palaces and a very grand temple of the sun to be built, besides many store-houses. The virgins of the temple were employed in weaving very fine cloths, which they dyed with better and more perfect colours than can be done in most other parts of the world. In this temple there were great riches for its services; and on certain days the ministers saw the devil, with whom they had intercourse and converse. There were a great number of Mitimaes in this province of Caxamarca, obeying the superintendent, who had orders to collect tribute and bear rule over the province. The officers in charge of store-houses in various parts of the country came to him to give an account of their charge, for he was the chief officer in these districts, and also bore rule over many of the coast valleys. And although the people on the coast had the temples and sanctuaries already described by me, and many others, yet many of them came to worship the sun, and to offer sacrifices. There are many things worthy of note in the palaces of the Yncas, especially some very fine baths, where the chiefs bathed when they were lodged in those edifices.[395]

Now the province of Caxamarca is much diminished in importance; for when Huayna Ccapac, the rightful king of these realms, died in the very year that the Marquis Don Francisco Pizarro, with his thirteen companions, by the grace of God, discovered this prosperous kingdom, his first-born and general heir, Huascar, being the eldest son that he had by his legitimate wife the Ccoya (which is the name of the Queen), took the fringe and crown of the whole kingdom,[396] as soon as his father’s death was known in Cuzco. He sent messengers in all directions, with orders that, since his father was dead, all men should obey him as sole lord. But, during the war of Quito, waged by Huayna Ccapac, the great captains Chalcuchima, Quizquiz, Yncla-hualpec, and Rumi-Ñaui had been engaged, who were very famous, and had intrigued to make another new Cuzco in Quito, and to form a kingdom in the northern province, divided and separated from Cuzco. They wished to take for their lord a noble and very intelligent youth named Atahualpa, who was well beloved by all the veteran soldiers and captains, for he had set out with his father from Cuzco at a tender age, and marched with the army for a long time. Some Indians even say that Huayna Ccapac himself, before his death, reflecting that the kingdom which he left was so vast as to extend along a thousand leagues of coast, determined to leave Quito and his other conquests to Atahualpa. However this may be, it is certain that, when Atahualpa and his followers knew that Huascar desired them to yield obedience to him, they took up arms. It is said, however, that at first, by the cunning of one captain Atoco, Atahualpa was made prisoner in the province of Tumebamba, and that he escaped by the help of a woman, and reached Quito, where he assembled his troops. He gave battle to the captain Atoco near Ambato, and the army of Huascar was then defeated, as I shall more fully relate in the third part of this work, in which I treat of the discovery and conquest of this kingdom. As soon as the defeat and death of Atoco were known in Cuzco, the captains Huancauque and Yncaroque, with a large force, set out from Cuzco by order of the King Huascar, and waged a great war with Atahualpa, to force him to yield obedience to the rightful King Huascar. Atahualpa not only refused to do this, but sought to obtain the kingdom for himself. Thus there was a great struggle, and it is affirmed by the Indians themselves that more than 100,00 men were killed in the wars and battles, in which Atahualpa was always victorious.[397] At last he came with his army to the province of Caxamarca (which is the reason that I treat of his history in this part), and here he first heard of the strange people who had entered the country, and who were then not far off. Thinking it certain that it would be very easy to capture them and hold them as his servants, he ordered his captain Chalcuchima to march to Cuzco with a great army, and either seize or kill his enemy. Meanwhile he himself remained in Caxamarca, at which place the governor Don Francisco Pizarro arrived, and afterwards those events took place which ended in the encounter between the forces of Atahualpa and the Spaniards (who did not number more than one hundred and fifty men), the death of many Indians, and the imprisonment of Atahualpa. Owing to these troubles, and to the length of time that the Christian Spaniards remained there, Caxamarca received much damage, and as, for our sins, there have never ceased to be civil wars, it has not recovered. It is held in encomienda by the captain Melchor Verdugo, a citizen of Truxillo.[398] All the edifices of the Yncas and the storehouses are, like the rest, in a ruinous condition.

This province of Caxamarca is very fertile, and yields wheat like another Sicily. They also breed stock, and raise abundance of maize and of edible roots, and of all the fruits which I have mentioned as growing in other parts. Besides these, there are falcons, many partridges, doves, pigeons, and other game. The natives are well-mannered, peaceful, and amongst themselves they have some good customs, so as to pass through this life without care. They think little of honour, and are not ambitious of having any, but they are hospitable to Christians who pass through their province, and give them good food, without doing them any evil turn, even when the traveller is solitary. For these and other things the Spaniards praise the Indians of Caxamarca. They are very ingenious in forming irrigating channels, building houses, cultivating the land, breeding stock, and in working gold and silver. They also make, with their hands, as good tapestry from the wool of their sheep as is to be found in Flanders, and so fine that the threads of it look like silk, although they are only wool. The women are amorous, and some of them are beautiful. They go dressed in the same way as the Pallas, or ladies of Cuzco. The temples and huacas are now in ruins, and the idols are broken, many of the Indians having become Christians. There are always priests and friars among them, teaching them our holy Catholic faith.