112 / 1070
94
Royal
Commentaries.
BooK
III.
-
C H - A P.
XXIV.
oj
the Garden of Golrl, and of other Riches helonging
to the
Temple,
ami
of many other things in that
E7:1pire,
after
the
Fa/bion of
them.
T
O return now to this Fountain, I fay, that at the end of
ftx
or feven months
after it was lofi-, it happened, that fome
Indian
Boys playing about the
Stream, difcovered an eruption of Water from the broken Pipe; of which rhey
acquainting one the other, ac length it carne to che knowledge of che
Spaniardr;
who judging ic to be the water of che Convent, chac had been lofi-, and di-verted
from its former courfe, gave information chereofunto the Friars, who ioyfully re–
ceived che good news, and immediately laboured to bring it again into direét con–
veyance, and conduél: it to cheir Garden; che truth is, the Pipes lying very deep,
were buried with Earch,
fo
thac it coíl: much labour and pains to redtKe it to its
rigl.c clíanelJ and yec t'hey were not fo cúrious or induíl:rious as
to
trace th~
Fountain to che Spring Head.
,
Thac Garden which now fupplies che Convent with Herbs aod Planes, was the
Carden which in the times ofche
Iñra1
belonged
to
chei1•f>alace, called the Carden
of Gold and Silver, becaufe cha.ein ic were Herbs and Flowers of all forts, lower
Plants, and fhrubs, and taller Trees, made all of Gold and Silver, togecher wich
all forts of wild Beaíls, and carne, which :Were accounced rare and unufüal; there
were alfo ílrange Infeél:s, and creeping things, as Snakes, Serpems, Lizards,
Ca–
rnelions, Butcer-flies and Snails; alío all forrs of frrange Birds and every thing
dif–
pofed and ín its propér place wich great 'care, and imitared wich much curiofüy, ·
like che nacure and original of that it repreíepred.
í
There was alfo a
Mayz:.all,
which bears che
l ndian
Wheat, of an extraordiriary
bignefs, che feed whereof they call
f2.._uinua,
likewife Plant_s which produce leífer
Seeds, and Trees bearing their feveraltorts of Fruit, ali made of Gold and Silver
and excellemly well reprefenting them in cheir natural Shapes.
In che Palace
al[~
they had heaps or piles of Billets, and Faggots, made of Cold and Silver, rarely
well collnterfeiced. And for che greacer adornment and Majefi-y of che Temple
of their God che Sun, they had caíl vafi- Figures
in
che forms ofMen, and
W
o–
men, and Children, which they laid up
in
Magazines, or large Chambers, called
Pirva;
and every year ar che principal feafts che People prefented greac quantities
of Gold and Silver, which were al! employed
in
the adornment of che Temple;
and chofe Cold-fmirhs whofe Are and Labour was dedicaced to che Sun, attended
to no ocher work than daily to @ke new lnvemions of rare workmanfhip out of
chofe Metalis.
In
fhorr, chey made ali (ores ofVeífels, or Utenfils, belongi.ng to
che Temple, of Gold and Silver, fuch as Pors, and Pans, and Pails, aqd Fire-fho–
vels, andTon&s, and every thing elfe of uíe and fervice, even cheir very Spades,
and Rakes of the Garden were made of the like Mera!!, chac with very good rea–
fon theymight call the Temple, and ali the Houfe of che Sun, che
Coricancha,
or
the Ingot of Gold.
In
imitation of this Temple at
Co:uo,
they made che Temples which were in
the ocher Provinces of chat Kingdom, of many of which, as alío ofrhe feleét Vir–
gins
Pedro deCiefa de Leon
makes mentían in his Obfervacions ofthat Countrey; bue
omits
co
de[~rióe either the nm~ber_ of ~hem, or the places,
in
which they were,
bue onely fuch as occurred to him m h1s rravels through che greac roads leaving
thoíe unmencioned, which remained on borh hands out of the way; perhaps co
avoid a tedious prolixicy he_might país them by,
in
regard thac by che model of
one, ·the others may be defcnbed.
·
In