CHAPTER LIV.[306

Concerning the foundation of the city of Guayaquil; and how certain of the natives put the captains of Huayna Ccapac to death.

Further on, towards the west, is the city of Guayaquil; and, as soon as the boundary of its jurisdiction is crossed, the Indians are Guancavilcas--those toothless ones who, from custom, or to honour their accursed gods, pulled out their teeth, as I have before said. As I have already given an account of their dress and customs, I have no wish to repeat it in this chapter.

In the time of Tupac Ynca Yupanqui, lord of Cuzco, these people were conquered. The Lord Ynca subjugated them, and, in doing so, he proved himself to be a great captain, and won victories and notable trophies, displacing the garrisons of the natives, and allowing no armed men in any part except those who were posted at stations assigned by himself. He then ordered certain of his captains to explore the country, and to bring the natives to obedience by kindness and friendship. All these captains, as I have said before, were killed by the natives, without one being left alive. The natives did not at once receive the punishment they deserved for killing those who slept in confidence without suspecting such treason, because the Ynca was in Cuzco, and his governors and delegates had enough to do in their respective governments. When Huayna Ccapac succeeded, he showed himself to be as brave and valiant a captain as his father, with even more prudence, and full of pride at his new power. He set out from Cuzco in great haste, accompanied by the principal _Orejones_[307] of the two famous tribes of that city, called Hanan-Cuzcos, and Hurin-Cuzcos. After having visited the sacred temple of Pachacamac, and the garrisons which were stationed by his order in the provinces of Xauxa and Caxamarca, and other parts, both in the mountains and in the fruitful valleys of the coast, he reached Tumbez, where a fortress was built by his order, although some Indians say that this edifice is more ancient. The people of the island of Puna being hostile to the natives of Tumbez, it was easy for the captains of the Ynca to build this fortress while the Indians were engaged in their own quarrels. When it was finished Huayna Ccapac ordered a temple of the sun to be built, and two hundred virgins, from amongst the most beautiful daughters of the chiefs of the province, to be collected together in it. In this fortress (which before it was ruined, is said to have been a thing worthy of notice) Huayna Ccapac had his captain or delegate, with a number of _Mitimaes_, and stores and provisions for their maintenance, as well as for the troops that passed that way. They also say that a lion and a very fierce tiger were placed in the fortress and ordered to be well guarded. These must have been the beasts which made as if they would tear the Captain Pedro de Candia in pieces,[308] at the time when the governor Don Francisco Pizarro, with his thirteen companions (who were the discoverers of Peru, as I shall relate in the third part of my work) reached this coast. In the fortress of Tumbez there were a great number of silversmiths who made vases of gold and silver, and many other ornaments both for the service and adornment of the temple, which these people considered sacred, and for the use of the Ynca himself. They also had to prepare the plates of these metals, to line the walls of the temples and palaces. The women, who were dedicated to the service of the temple, only understood how to spin and weave very fine woollen cloth, which they did with great skill. As I shall write very fully and copiously of these things in my second part, which will treat of the kingdom of the Yncas in Peru, from Manco Ccapac, who was the first, to Huascar, who was the last, I shall say no more in this chapter than is necessary to make the narrative clear. As soon, then, as Huayna Ccapac had made himself master of the province of the Guancavilcas and of Tumbez, he sent to Tumbala, the lord of Puna, to order him to come and do homage. When the lord of the island of Puna[309] heard what the Ynca’s message conveyed, he was much moved, for, being a chief, and having received that dignity from his ancestors, he held it to be a great calamity to lose that liberty which is so much esteemed by all the nations of the earth, and to receive a stranger as sole lord of his island; for he was not only required to serve him, but to allow his edifices and fortresses to be built on the island, and to give up his most beautiful women, which was what he felt most. Finally, however, those of the island consulted one with another touching the present calamity, and, considering how small their power was to resist that of the Ynca, they agreed that it would be prudent to seek for his friendship, and to feign submission. Tumbala then sent messengers to Huayna Ccapac with presents, and invited him to visit the island of Puna for a few days. The Ynca was satisfied with this humility, and Tumbala, with the chiefs of the island, sacrificed to the gods, seeking what they should do to escape from the Ynca, who sought to be supreme lord over all. It is said that messengers were sent to all the neighbouring provinces to try the temper of the people, and to excite them to resist Huayna Ccapac. This was done very secretly, and in the meanwhile the Ynca went to the island of Puna, where he was honourably received, and lodged in buildings which had been prepared for him. The _Orejones_ and the chiefs of the island assembled, and showed signs of real and not simulated friendship.

As many of the natives of the main land desired to live as their ancestors had done, and as a foreign yoke is always heavy and distasteful, while that of a countryman is easy and light, they conspired with the natives of the island of Puna to kill all those who came into the country with the Ynca. At that time Huayna Ccapac ordered certain of his captains, with a large force, to visit some of the villages on the mainland, and to arrange affairs connected with his service; and he ordered the islanders to convey them in _balsas_ across the sea, and to disembark them in a river whence it would be convenient to go to their destination. Having arranged these and other matters on the island, Huayna Ccapac returned to Tumbez, or to some place near it. The _Orejones_, noble youths of Cuzco, then got into the _balsas_, with their captains, a large and well-appointed fleet. They were crossing the water without suspicion, when the islanders treacherously unfastened the cords by which the poles of the _balsas_ were secured, so that the poor _Orejones_ fell into the water, where they were all cruelly murdered by the islanders with the arms which they had secretly brought with them. By killing some and drowning others, they put an end to all the _Orejones_, and nothing was left of them but some mantles and a few of their ornaments. As soon as the aggressors had committed these murders, their joy was very great, and they talked and complimented each other in the _balsas_ to such an extent, that it might have been supposed that the Ynca and all his troops were in their power. They enjoyed their victory, and appropriated the treasures and ornaments of these people of Cuzco, but they finally met a fate very different from their thoughts, as I am about to relate. The _Orejones_ who came in the _balsas_ being dead, the murderers quickly returned to the place whence they had started, to take more people on board. The rest of the _Orejones_, unaware of the trick which had been played on their companions, then embarked with their clothes, ornaments, and provisions, and were all killed in the same way, so that not one escaped. If any that knew how to swim tried to save their lives, they were killed by fierce and cruel blows, and if they dived, and thus strove to fly from their enemies by seeking favour of the fishes that dwell in the depths of the sea, it was of no avail, for the islanders, who live much in the sea, employed in their fisheries, swim as well as the fishes, and easily overtook the fugitives and strangled them. The sea was full of blood, the sign of a sad spectacle. As soon as all the _Orejones_ who went in the _balsas_ were killed, those of Puna, with the other Indians who had conspired with them, returned to the island.

When these events were made known to the King Huayna Ccapac, he was enraged and deeply distressed that so many of his nobles should have no tombs. In truth they think more of the building and adorning of their tombs where they are to be put after death, than of the houses where they dwell while living. Presently the Ynca assembled all his remaining forces, and resolved to punish the barbarians in such a manner that neither resistance nor submission should avail them, for their offence was held to be so grave, that it was more necessary to punish with severity than to pardon with clemency and humanity. Thus thousands were put to death in various ways, and the chiefs who formed the conspiracy were impaled or hung.[310] After he had inflicted a great and terrible punishment on these Indians, Huayna Ccapac ordered that the misfortune which had befallen his followers should be recorded in songs, and sung in seasons of mourning; for such subjects are recited in their languages in elegies. He also ordered a causeway to be made along the river of Guayaquil, which, judging from some parts that may still be seen, must have been a superb work, but it was never finished. It is called the “passage of Huayna Ccapac.” Having inflicted this punishment, he ordered that all the natives should obey his governor, who was in the fortress of Tumbez, and having arranged other matters, the Ynca departed from this province. There are other districts and villages within the jurisdiction of the city of Guayaquil, but I have nothing to say concerning them, except that the manners and dress of the inhabitants are the same as those already described, and that their country is the same.