Of what there is to be said concerning the country from Caxamarca to the
valley of Xauxa; and of the district of Guamachuco, which borders on
Caxamarca.
Having told all that I was able to gather touching the foundation of the
cities of the frontier of Chachapoyas and of Leon de Huanuco, I shall
now return to the royal road, and describe the provinces between
Caxamarca and the beautiful valley of Xauxa, a distance of eighty
leagues, a little more or less, all traversed by the royal road of the
Yncas.
Eleven leagues beyond Caxamarca there is another large province called
Huamachuco, which was once very populous, and half way on the road to it
there is a very pleasant and delightful valley. It is surrounded by
mountains and is therefore cold, but a beautiful river flows through it,
on the banks of which grow wheat, vines, figs, oranges, lemons, and many
other plants which have been brought from Spain. In ancient times there
were buildings for the chiefs in the meadows and dales of this valley,
and many cultivated fields for them and for the temple of the sun. The
province of Huamachuco is like that of Caxamarca, and the Indians are of
the same race, imitating each other in their religion and sacrifices, as
well as in their clothes and head-dress. In times past there were great
lords in this province of Huamachuco who were highly favoured by the
Yncas. In the principal part of the province there is a great plain,
where the _tampus_ and royal palaces were built, amongst which there are
two the thickness of which was twenty-two feet, and the length as much
as a horse’s gallop, all made of stone, embellished with huge beams,
over which the straw was laid with much skill. Owing to the late
troubles the greater part of the population of this province has
perished. The climate is good, more cold than hot, and the country
abounds in all things necessary for the sustenance of man. Before the
Spaniards arrived there were great flocks of sheep in the province of
Huamachuco, and in the lofty and uninhabited mountains there were other
wild kinds, called _guanacos_ and _vicuñas_, which resemble those which
are domesticated.
They told me that, in this province, the Yncas had a royal chase, and
the natives were forbidden to enter it for the purpose of killing the
wild animals, on pain of death. It contained some lions, bears, and
deer. When the Ynca desired to have a royal hunt, he ordered three
thousand, four thousand, ten thousand, or twenty thousand Indians to
surround a wide tract of country, and gradually to converge until they
could join hands. The game was thus collected in the centre, and it is
great fun to see the _guanacos_, how they jump up into the air with
fright, and run from one side to the other, seeking for a way to get
out. Another party of Indians then enters the enclosure, armed with
clubs, and kills the number of animals that the lord requires, often ten
thousand or fifteen thousand head, such was the abundance of these
animals.[409] They made very precious cloth from the wool of the
vicuñas, for the use of the Ynca, his wives, and children, and to
ornament the temples. These Indians of Huamachuco are very docile, and
have almost always been in close alliance with the Spaniards. In times
past they had their religious superstitions, and worshipped certain
stones as large as eggs, and others still larger, of different colours,
which they kept in their _huacas_ in the snowy mountain heights. After
they were conquered by the Yncas they worshipped the sun, and became
more civilised, both in their government and in their personal habits.
In their sacrifices they shed the blood of sheep and lambs, flaying them
alive without cutting off their heads, and presently cutting out their
hearts and entrails with great rapidity, to search in them for signs and
omens; for some of them were sorcerers, who also watched the courses of
comets, like other heathens. The devil came to the place where they had
their oracles, with whom it is publicly known that they held converse.
Now these things have come to an end, their idols are destroyed, and a
cross has been raised in their stead, to strike terror and dismay into
our adversary the devil. Some of the Indians, with their wives and
children, have become Christians, and every day, by reason of the
preaching of the holy gospel, more are converted, for in these
buildings and edifices there are clergymen who teach the people. The
royal road of the Yncas goes from the province of Huamachuco to the
Conchucos, and in Bombon it joins another road equally large. One of
these roads is said to have been made by order of Tupac Ynca Yupanqui,
and the other by order of his son Huayna Ccapac.