4000003870

·'

BooK

·VI.

Royal

Com1nentaries.

· they

faw

or met any game, they hooped

an~

hollowed to give

no~ice

thereof to

their Companions and

marched along

till

theY. came

to fira1cen the beafts

all £ides with

narrow compafs, that they coulCl come

and

take them

with

their very hands.

What fierce

Beafis

they encouncred, as they beat the Woods and Mouncams

fuch as

Lio~s,

Bears,

Foxes,

Moumai~-Cats,

which they call

D_z.c~llo,

as aJfo Ser–

pents

·and ve.domous Creatures they killed before they

me w1thm the Field., or

Circle of their Hunting.

":"I'

e make· no

~encion

here of Tygers,

bec~ufe-

there

were none in thofe Countries, but onely

the vall and horrid MounralllS of

An–

tu.

What number of Game they might

kill

at _fuch a Hunting, is 1:Jncetrain,

.that happening according to the Countrey, and their forrune; for fomet1mes they

killed twenty, thirty or forty thoufand head of Beafis,

fueh

as Stags,

~al1?w

Deer,

the

Huanacu

which yields a

fort

of courfe W0ol, and the

Vmma,

wluch1s

Goat

with very fine Wool; with many other Creatures, which afforded not onely pro–

fit but fport and pafrime in the taking of them.

Such

in thofe

times

was the

abundance of their Game ; but now it is faid, that fuch havock hath been made

• by the Guns which the

Spaniards

ufe, that there is

fcarc~

Huanacm,

Vicuna

be found ; but

~hat

are affiighced into

th~

Mountains, and inacceffible places,

where no path or way can be made.

All

the Game being thus furrounded and encompa!fed, they took

with

their

hands. The Female Deer, whether red or fallow, they

fuffered

to efcape;

becaufe they had no Wool , but old and barren Does they killed : they let go al–

as many Males as were thought nece!fary to ferve the Females , and all the

refi they killed, and divided their Flefh

amon~fi:

the Commonalty, likewife

ha–

ving thorn the

Huanacm

and the

Pfruna,

they let them efcape, keeping an exalt

· ·

account of

all

thefe wild Cartel,

if they had

~en

tame Flocks, noting them

their

~ipuo,

which

their Book of l.legiller,. dllinguifhing the Males from

their Females

exaCl: and orderly manner. They likewife ·noted the Number

of the Beafts they killed,

well fuch as were fierce and hurtfull, .as thofe that

were tame and ufefull, that

knowing the diretl: Numbers that remained, they

might

the

better fee at their next Hunting feafon, how

their

frock

was

multiplied

~~~~

The courfe Woof of the

Huanacm

was

di!lribu.ted amongll the common peo–

ple ; and chat of the

'f/icuna,

becaufe it was very fine, was referved

for

che

Inca,

··

who divided

alfo amongft the

Incas

of his Kindred : For befides them,_ no other

upon

pain

Deat:h

might prefume to wear it, unlefs in favour; fome part there·

of was given to a particular

Cur~ca,

who upon no other terms could pretend to

that honom: and privilege. The Flefh of the

Huanacm

and

Picuna

was difiribu–

ted amongfi the common people, with whom the

Curacas

would vouchfafe to

take fome

part, as

alfo of the

enifon ; not that they wanted it, but

!hew

their compliance and familiarity widi the people; and that they who laboured in ..

•the Hunting, did not fcorn co receive

the.tr

~are

of the prey.

Thefe general and folemn Huntin

gs we

appo~ted

every

fourth

Year in the

refpetl:ive Divifions ; for the

Indians

were of opinion, that

fuch time the Wool

the

ricuna

would be at its

full

growth , and that the wi1d Cattel would have

time

to increafe; and would be lefs affiighted at the approach of Me.q, ·than

they were every year tea(ed and hu ted: Howfoever, they hunted in one place or

otbe_r every

y~r

; but with fuch method and order, that the Provinces being divi–

ded

mt~

four

parts,

each divifion

too~

its

rum·

but once

four

years.

this orderly manner and I?ethod the

Incas

appqinted the times of Hunting,.

yv~ll

for the pleafure and gehght,

for the profit of his people ; it being an

ohpm1on amongfi them, that the

Pachacamac,

or die God and Creatour of all chings,

ad commanded that the fame care fhould be taken of the-wild, as of the tame

Flocks; and that they were

defiroy the hurtfull and devouring Beafis, as they

were to cut and

robt

out noxious Weeds or Herbs out of their Corn, and Fields

tha~

were fown:

At)d

fince we obferve the order which thefe

lnca1

diretted

their

Ver¥

Hunungs, which they called

Chacu

;

how can we doubt but that thefe

people maintained the like in matters of Government and

thing~

of greater im·

po~nce

, and were not

brutifh and falvage

the 'world hath figured them ..

ltht

farther

to be noted, that the Bezar-ftone brought from that Countrey,

(in

goodnefs whereof there

great difference ) was taken from fome of thofe

wild cartel, which

we have

·before

mentioned.

According

•