_How they discovered great deposits of gold in the river
Caravaya, how Vaca de Castro ordered all the old tambos and
lodgings to be occupied, and of the departure of Pedro Anzures
and Francisco Becerra for Spain._
Very great things happened in the Realm at this time; and
notwithstanding the constant wars, the people who lived in it appeared
very contented and seemed to take fresh heart, at all points. And it
pleased God, in appreciation of the Christian zeal of the Emperor
Don Carlos, our lord, that great kingdoms and provinces should be
discovered during his reign, full of rivers and hills, the richest
in metals of gold and silver that have ever been seen. Although the
sins of the men who live out here are many, their Catholic aspirations
and eagerness to make war on the infidels in support of the great
expense and disbursements involved, led them on in these enterprises.
So it was that in this year the richest of all the gold mines in this
country were found at a river called _Caravaya_--of which I do not
treat here, because I have told about it in my "Book of Foundations."
The gold that was extracted was of perfectly pure quality, and there
were many instances of 500 and 1,000 _pesos_ being taken from one
trough. Altogether they got from this river more than 1,300,000
_pesos_' worth. As the treasure was so great, so also the labour
was not less. It employed many gangs of Indians and, the climate
being very different from that of Peru, a great number of them died.
From these natives Vaca de Castro got lavish supplies of gold; and,
retaining the _coca_ profits as he did for himself alone, he realized
further large sums of money to meet the extravagant expenditure caused
by his ostentation and by requiring greater ceremonial homage than
was a Governor's due. The rich yield of the river of Caravaya was
increasing, and ordinances were enacted to regulate affairs concerning
the mines. Hearing that great outrages were being committed on the
natives because many of the post houses or _tambos_ on the royal road
from Cuzco to Quito were badly provided, and that some men had been
carried off in chains, by which God our Lord was ill served, and his
Majesty too, Vaca de Castro issued an ordinance which was very proper
and beneficial at the moment. He ordered the feoffees and the caciques
or Chiefs of the various provinces to see that the post houses were
maintained in the same manner as in the days of the King Inca Huayna
Capac, and that they should always be kept supplied with provisions
for persons travelling in the Realm. The Chiefs were also obliged to
provide certain Indians to go from _tambo_ to _tambo_ with what was
necessary; and if any Spaniard should exact more than the statutory
provision we have stated, he was to be rigorously punished. In this
way the roads were well provided and Spaniards passed along them
without trouble.
At this time the captain Alonso de Alvarado, now that the war was
over and the King was in possession of the whole country, resolved to
proceed to Spain, to give an account to his Majesty of all that had
occurred. He set out accordingly and arrived at Tierra Firme just when
the Ordinances which his Majesty caused to be sent out reached those
parts; the transcript being brought by one Diego de Aller, who also
said that Blasco Nuñez Vela was coming in the capacity of a Viceroy
to enforce them. As the captain Pedro Anzures and the accountant Juan
de Cáceres were then in Panamá, with other settlers from Peru, they
urged Don Alonso to return--for the defence of his property and to
petition against the Ordinances. Alonso de Alvarado answered prudently
that if he returned and any disturbance should arise, they would
blame him for it. The proper thing for them all to do, said he, was
to memorialize the King, with great humility, respecting the laws;
and that, being so Christian a prince, he would not allow them to be
deprived of their estates which they had acquired with so much labour,
and that they should go to Spain to present themselves before his
Majesty, who would order justice to be done. Besides this that Alonso
de Alvarado said to those who were in Panamá, he wrote to the cities
of Lima, Truxillo, and Chachapoyas, and others in Peru, advising that
they should act in this and in no other way: which fact I adduce in
order that the fidelity with which this captain was determined to
serve his King may be understood, and even in the presence of the
President Gasca I saw clear enough evidence of his loyalty over this
business, and it seemed to be true.
But let us now return to our subject, which is that the Governor Vaca
de Castro being desirous of dispersing the Spaniards who had collected
together owing to the war now ended, and understanding that beyond
Charcas, to the west, there were natives and capabilities for founding
a city, he ordered the captain Gabriel de Rojas to go and attend to
it, and gave him the requisite powers and faculty, in the name of the
King. Though Gabriel de Rojas set out to found the city, he did not
succeed; and therefore we will say nothing more about that, but we
will now speak of the arrival of Gonzalo Pizarro at Cuzco.