_Of what else happened to the captain Diego de Rojas._
All the natives of the regions near where the Spaniards were marching
were in great terror. They thought that there must be some deity in
the invaders and, though they did not number forty, all who even heard
their name trembled with fear. They said to each other that the
horses understood the Spaniards, and that they were such great and
fierce animals that they would kill every one they met. As the Chief
of those Indians who had come out on the war path was more alarmed
than any one, he sought with a good will to make peace with Diego
de Rojas, who granted it, saying that he did not come to make war
unless he was forced into it. Taking counsel with the other Spaniards
who were with him, he determined to return to Tucumá, as it was not
prudent to advance further, they being so few and the natives so
numerous. Speaking to those who were present, the captain Diego de
Rojas said that he would return to where he had left many Spaniards
and horses, so that all might go together to conquer those regions,
and place them under the dominion of the king Don Carlos. Having said
this, he set out on his return to Tucumá, where they found a large
supply of provisions.
In order that the Indians might not think that the Spaniards fled from
fear of them, Diego de Rojas resolved to send Francisco de Mendoza
with six horsemen to return to Chiquana to make all those come, who
had remained. Francisco de Mendoza having departed, Diego de Rojas ran
a great risk with only thirty men, the six being taken off. But his
watch was so careful, that it was not easy for the Indians to take him
unawares. The supplies were so abundant, that they could get plenty
without any trouble; there were more hens than in the land of Campos,
and very plump ones; also a great quantity of ducks, and not a few
guanacos in those provinces. The Indians would have been glad enough
to kill the Spaniards, and to clear them out of their provinces,
but seeing their enemies so watchful and well prepared they did not
venture to make opposition. They agreed to wait and see what would
come of the invaders' presence.
The natives of these provinces are well made. They wear long cloaks
of wool from below the arm, a strip from it passing over the shoulder,
and the waist belt is arranged so that the private parts do not
appear. In warm weather they have very graceful and handsome cloaks
of ostrich[153] feathers. The women go naked, with no more than a
small apron fastened round the waist, like the _maures_ which, as we
have written, are worn by the women of Anzerma and Antiochia [_sic_].
They wear their hair very long and well combed; they pride themselves
on washing frequently, and use no _bija_[154] nor any other mixture
on their faces. The food of these Indians is maize and the flesh of
guanacos and their ewes. They are great sorcerers and the devil is
always talking to them. They have no belief, and merely think that
they have to live, and must die. When they die, the relatives make
burial places in the hills where the bodies are placed, and they stick
a tall stout post over the grave, on which is carved a figure of the
devil as he was seen by the deceased when, in life, they talked to
him. They do not eat human flesh, and detest the sin of sodomy. Their
houses are large and round, and the villages not very close together.
They have not so much fruit as in other parts. These customs and
habits of Indians relate to those who dwell beyond the province of
Tucumá, for those nearer[155] had been subjugated by the Incas, and
many of them wore clothes. The reason why the Incas did not subjugate
the natives farther on was that they received glowing reports of
the provinces stretching towards Quito and of the vast quantity of
gold in them, so they extended their conquests in that direction. To
make their dominion secure, in the time of the Inca Yupanqui, who
was father of Tupac Inca, and grandfather of Huayna Capac, certain
_orejones_[156] were sent by his order, not with any great company of
people nor with an army, but with articles for barter, in order to
learn the disposition of the natives and the character of the country.
The greatness of the Incas was so well known, and the fame of their
victories had made such an impression, that these _orejones_ easily
induced the natives to become vassals of the King Inca Yupanqui. The
latter agreed that their friendship should be perpetual, but that they
should not be required to do more than defend the frontier so that no
enemy should invade the Inca's territory on that side; and so this
peace was made. In Tucumá they believed the Sun to be God. All hold
that things had a beginning and that there was one Creator, to whom
they offered sacrifices, but all their beliefs were inspired by the
devil because they were deceived by him in their illusions.
FOOTNOTES:
[153] _Avestruces_ in the MS.--but really the _Rhea_.
[154] _Bixa orellana_--anatto.
[155] The MS. is defective here.
[156] _Orejones_ was the name given by Spaniards to some wild tribes
of the Gran Chaco, because they perforated and stretched the ear lobes.