Of the province of Arma, of the customs of the natives, and of other notable things.

THIS province of Arma, whence the town took its name, is very large and populous, and the richest in this part of the country; it contains twenty thousand Indians capable of bearing arms, not counting women and children, or did so when I wrote this, which was at the time when Christian Spaniards first entered the country. Their houses are large and round, made of long poles and beams, which curve upwards from the ground, and the roof is of straw. In these houses there are several divisions, partitioned off by reeds, and many people live in them. The province is about ten leagues long, by six or seven broad, a little more or less, broken up into rugged mountain ranges without forest. The valleys are like orchards, being full of all kinds of fruit trees, such as are found in this country, besides a very delicious fruit of a brown colour, called pitahaya.[216] This fruit has the peculiarity of making the urine of those who eat it, even though it be only one, of the colour of blood. In the hills there is another fruit which I take to be very curious, called vuillas.[217] It is small, and has a pleasant smell.

Some rivers rise in the mountains, and one of them, called the river of Arma, is troublesome to cross in the winter. The others are not large, but, from their appearance I certainly think that in time they will get as much gold from them as they do iron out of Biscay. Those who may read this, and have, like me, visited the country, will not consider this statement fabulous. The Indians have their workshops on the banks of the rivers, and they are continually waging cruel wars against each other. The languages of the Indians differ in many parts, and almost in every hamlet there is a distinct language. They were, and are, marvellously rich in gold, and if these natives of the province of Arma were as intelligent and docile as those of Peru, I will be bound to say that their mines would not fail to yield more than 500,00 pesos de oro. They have, or once had, many rich ornaments of this metal, which is so fine as to reach to at least nineteen quilates.[218] When they go to war they wear crowns with beautiful plumes, with plates on their breasts, armlets, and many other ornaments.

When we discovered them, the first time we entered the province with the captain Jorge Robledo, I remember we saw armed Indians covered with gold from head to foot, and the place where we first saw them is called to this day “Loma de los Armados.” Their houses are built on the level places at the foot of the hills, which are very rugged. They have large fortresses built of stout canes pulled up by the roots, which are placed in rows by twenties, like a street, and in the centre they have, or had, when I saw the place, a high platform, well built of the same canes, with steps up to it, where they offered sacrifices.