542 / 1060
Royal,
Commentaries.
BooK
IL
ca.r;
all whkh he fanher
enforced and confirmed by vircae of the Command
and
Charge committed unto him by his Father
Huayna Capac.
With
fuch Arguments as thefe, and
in
hopes and expectations that the Capitula–
tions would
be
maintained,
~izqu~
remained very fecure in
the
matters of
War.
and though
he
received intelligence that the Governours were marching
toward~
him,
yet
he
apprehended no hurt, nor received an
Allarrn,
onely he detached a–
bout an hundred Souldiers, under a Centurion or Captain, (which
is
the fmallell:
number
that the
Indians
have
in
a
Company,)
this
Centurion the Hifiorians
Go–
mdra
and
Garate
call
S~taurco,
which
fignifies
fix
Moun~ains,
for
c,
Olla
fignifies
fix, and
Oreo
aMountam, for he was born
in
aValley between fix lofty Mountains
(Cuch as
are common in that Countrey,) and they fay, that
his
Father and Meche:
\Vere in
his
company,
which
mull be upon fome extraordinary occafion, for
Wo–
men never go to the War with
their
Husbands; perhaps
it
might
be
to keep
up
the
fiery
of
his Birth,
and
of
his Life, for
the
Indians
by fuch
like
Names, and
by
fuch
Sayings, or by Cyphers, or Hieroglyphicks,
and
by their
Verf
es
and
Poeny
have conferved the Traditions of their Hillory ; and have therein comprehended
the foccefs of all their Matters
in
a compendious manner,
as for
examRle; the
Em–
baffies fent to their
Inca.I,
and their
Anf
wer thereunto; the Speeches made in
Peace
and
War
7
what foch a King or Governour commanded, with the punilh–
ments infliCl:ed; and in fhort, whatfoever was tranfatted
in
the publick Affairs.
All which the Hill:orians, or Notaries, taaght unto their Children by Tradition,
inClrueting them
in
Cyphers, and fhort
V
erficles, and
in
fuch fhort Words as the
Name of this Captain, and in fuch other Brief Sayings
as
we have already decla–
red; by help of which, and of their Knots, an
Indian
would read or recount the
pa1fages of his Time, as well, or fafier than a
Spaniard
could reade Books writ with
Letters, as
Acofta
teflifies
in
the
8th
Chapter of his
6th
Book; not that thefe
, Knots furnifhed
him
with Words, but onely called
things·
to
his
Memory, which
, having fiudied day and
night,
he became verfed
in
every particular,
fo
as to be
able
to
render an account of
his
Office.
All
which though
we
have
formerly de–
clared at large, yet having
fo
pertinent an Infiance
as this
Name of Captain
C,OE1t«>rco,
we have
thought
it
not impertinent
to
repeat the fame, that
we
may
verifie what we
have fonnerly reported, and to
help
the Memory
of
the Reader.
This
Captain,
as
we have faid, was fent
by
~uk.,q1ti~
for a fcout to difcover the
March and Force of the
SpanJardt
,
and to know their Intentions towards him;
but
the filly
Wretch was not fo cautious as he ought
to
have been, but faffered
himfelf robe furprifed,
and
taken by the
Spaniards,
who carried him to
Alvarado,
and by
hlm
the
Sp1111iardr
were informed of the place where
f2.!!_iq11iz
was qume..
red, and
of
the numbers and force he had
with
him>
fo
they marched wirh all
expedition towards
him,
and being near, they watched all night to beat up
bi~
Qiarrers early
in
the moming.
This
Exploit was committed to a
party
of
Horfe,
which travelling over rocky Hills and Ways, for the fpace of a
Day>s
Journey,
mofi of tbe Horfe call their Shoes, fo that they were forced to !hoe them by
cair
dle-lighr,. as the Writers of this matter do generally agree. All the next day
they
continued their Journey
with
great hafie and expedition ,.
left
:2_~
ihould receive intelligence of
their
March,
by
return of forne of thofe
they
met,
and
[o
they
proceeded untill the next day
in
the Evening> by which rime they
were
come within
fight
of
the Camp
of
fl!!.i:tqui~,
who upon
their
appearance
immediately
fled, ~
with
all his Women and Attendants. This
is
affirmed
by
Ca·
-rate,
and
Gomqa
reports almoft the fame thing; the which is a fufficient proof,
that
~R.qui·~
never intended to make War on the
Sp1tniard1,
or was provided
for
it;
for
if
he had, certainly he would have been better guarded, than
by
a com·
pany
ofWomen, and domefiick Attendants; nor were
his
Souldiers
fo
ine~perr,
or unskilfull
in
War, as not to have appeared with Arms at the Camp., or
Ren·
dezvous
upon
the
Smnmons of their Captain, which might have been fpeedily
effeeted by palling theWord from one to the other. Bur this amufement and
fru–
pid fecurity of
f2.it~quiz.
may well be attributed
to
the Providence of
Heav~,
which had defigned
the
Spaniard.t
to be Preachers of the Gofpel. Moreover
f2g_1z:.-
1JHiz,
depended on the Capitulations which the
bldiaif.f
had made with
FrancifcQ
Chaves-.
of which tbofe
Spaniards
who marched againfr him were not informed,
for
Do~
Diego
de
Almagro
was departed from
Cou:o
with his Forces,
in
fearch
o~
Al–
vttrado
before
Francifco
de
Cbtn1er
had brought the News thereo£ So the
Spanumb
being
'ignorant of the
Goodwill
and Intentions of
f<!:!J-G1J11i~,
went with Defign
co