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 500,000 _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.