982 / 1060
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Royai Co77zrnentaries.
BooK
VII.
of che Bridge committed to him, he had
f
~rce
been there
t
o da s, betor
the
Van
ol
his Majefties Army appeared; upon fight of which, not.fraying
any
longer, or obferv1ng who they were, or in what number., he fer fire co
the Bridge., and burnt it, and afterw rd£
returned
to bis Captain
General
with all expedition; which Altion, as
Palentino
faith, fo much difpleafed
Her–
nandez.,,
that he gave
Gavtlan
very
fevere words for having fo done: Though
1
cannot imagine, what reafon he fhou.ld
have for
it; for
fine he
had no in•
t.ention, as
may
be
believed, to
Ii
turn again
by
that way., I know not hat dam.
mage his Party could
receive
thereby ; and it is v
ry
vident
on the
contrary
that
the enem1 was damnified and forced to great trouble., and difficulties
in
their palfage over.
Hernandez.,
marched
.by
the Valley
of
Y1tcay.,
~o
enjoy (tho'
but for
2
days) the pleafures of that dehghtfol Country: and bemg come with
his
Army
w~thin
a League of
Coz..co,
he torned off
by
the left hand; being p r-
f
waded
by
the AftrologerSi., Diviners, or Prognofticators., not to go
thtther.
fayi ng.,
that
hisentrance there, would be unfortunate, and prove his
overthrow~
to evid net;
w.hi~h.,
they produced many Examples., as well of Indian Captains
as of Spaniards., who had
·been
defeated after their entrance into
Coz.,co:,
bu~
tpey
did not
f
pecifie thofe who had been
fuccefsful,
of whic.h we could give
many
particulars., · n cafe
it
were pertinent to
our
purpofe. In confirmation
hereof,
Diego Hernandez.., (chapteys
32,
and
4~)
names4
Spaniards., and a Morif–
can W
omao.,
who were eiteemed sktlful
in
the Art of Necromancy., and who '·
gave out., tbat they held a correfpendence with a familiar Spirit, which difco-
ered to t,hem all,the fecret counfels,and actions which were refolved,and which
paffC:d in his Majefties Camp; which report fer:ved to keep many people fo
in·
awe, that they durft neither adventureto·fty.,
nor
all: a
y
thing
to
the prejudice
of the
Rebels.,
l
ft
the Devil ilio'uM:f make a
difcovery
of their intentions.
I
my felf law
a
Letter
which
Hernande~
wrote to
Piedrahit11
at
Coz..co,
when orders
were
fent him to go
to
.Arequepa.,
as we faid
before:
And in that he tells him,
that he
fuould
not remove
out
of the City
on
fuch a day of the Week., but on
fuch a day ;
and
that his
name of
r;-11an
was not to
be
written henceforward
with an
V.
but with an
0.
of which nature were many other things in the
Let~er.,
which I cannot
fo
particularly
remember.,
as to deliver them in Writing,
only
I can fay,
that
he was
g~nerally
efteetned for a Cheat, and
an
lmpo..
fter : And
by
this
fort
of
Conjuring
and
Tricks,
(as is ufual) he hafr–
ned his Qwn
ruine and deftruetion,
as
we fball fee
by
the fequeI •
The
W ell-wdhers of
Hernande~,
who
vyere
acquainted with
tbe.Correfpon–
dencics and Compacts which he had with Wizzards; made
it
aquefrion amonglt
themfdves,
why
be made
no
ufe of the
Indians
of the Country who were
fa–
mous
for
Col")juq1tions.,
and biaboiical
Arts~
To which anfw r was made,
that their G enel{al bad no Opinion of the Magick and Witchcraft ·of the
In-
.
dtans,
yvhich were fooleries,, rather than any real coritrafr, or dealing with the
D vil.
And
herein they had fome reafon, as we have proved and evinced
by
fe·
era l lnfhnces., in the firft part of thefe Commentaries,
Book_rhe
4.
Chap.
16.
One·of which., was their Prognoftication of good or bad Fortune,
by
thf' pal–
pitation or twinkling of
th~
Eye ;
and another
fort
of Divination they took
rom the buzz ing., or finging of
the
Ears, which, as we mentioned
in
cbe
foregoing Chapter.,
fo
we Ihall hear repeat
it
again ; having the Authority of
·
a Synod held in that Empire, whereby this vain Superfiiuon
is
condemned
by a Catholick Cannon; and Advertifements are given to Confeffors., to let
them know., that the
Indians
take their Superftitious Divinations from
Ie
rng
and hearing : That of the
hearing.,
I have obferved many of them co
u~e
in thi manner, when they found at any time
a
humming or buzzing in their
·ght Ear; th
y
fa
id., that fom Friend or Kiofinan was
f
peaking well of them;
and to know who this Friend was, they
ould clap the Palm of their rigbt
h nd to their Mouth, and breathing hard upon it, rhey would chink of fome
Friend, and then carry it clofe to the Ear; and
i
the bumming did
not
pre–
fently c afe, they woul
think of another Friend; and do a b ore; and then
of another; and he, with thoughts of whom the humming went away,
it
as
oucluded, that he wa
theperfon who fpake well of che Party.
In like manner,
hen
hey
found a humming m their
left
Ear., they
ouid
fc
y,
that an Enemy fpake
ill
of them; and to find out who
.it
as, they ufed
t
e like
applkation
of tbei
lef hand, and he,
wi~
whom in their thoughts
the