4000003871

Boo}\ VIII.

Royal Commentaries.

XVII.

..1" .

Of their

wild

C~ttel, and Vermine.·

Efore the time that the

Spaniards

carne into

Peru,.

the

Ím/i11ns

had n~ other di;;

íl:inétion or variety of tame Cattel, but onely of the

Paco

·and

Huan,tcu;

as we have before fpecified. Of their wild Cattel they had much more variecy,.

of which they made notwithfianding the fame benef1t, and ufe, as chey did of

the carne, accordmg as we have fpecified , in the Chapter of their Humings,

which they performed at their cerrain feafons. One for~ of this wikl Cactel was

called

Huanacu,

for the likenefs ic had to chat of che greater kind , which was

tarne; che Fleíh of which was very excellent and favoury, chough not

good

as chat ofche carne; in lhort, chey refembl~ each ocher yery rpuch, both in Co–

lour, Wool, Shape, and every ching elfe. The Males of thefe Creatures a.Jvyays

keep wacch on high Hills, whilfr the Females are feeding jn the lower Paíl:ures;

which

foon as they efpie people coming cowai;ds chem, they .prefemly make

a bleating, (which refembles the neighing of a Horfe) to•give warning to them ro

fl.y and fave themfelves, and then che Males fray untill cheir Females come up,.

which chey put before them, and rem¡iin chemfelves in che rere. . The

ool of

chis wild

Huanacm

is íhort and courfe ; howfoever che

Indians

made ufe of it for

their clothing; and in my time che

Spaniards

ufeá to cake chem with ch~r Grey–

hounds.

The

Vicunna,

which is another fort of wild Cartel, refembles the

P11eo;

and is a

neat Creature, buc very lean, and yields great abundance of ·fine Wool.

Acofta

wrires of che many _medicinal Virtues which belong

chis Creature; and as he

defcribes che Beaíl:s and

Fow

l ofall che newWorld,

in reading of bis Writings

we ought to diíl:inguiíh chof~ of

Pme

frbm other pares. The

Vic,m;,a

is long leg–

ged, and higher chan che biggefr Goac; che colour of.irs Wool is of

light Chef–

puc, or as fome call it, Lion-coloured; chey are fo nimble and (wifc, chac no

Grey-hound can cake chem, and therefore chey killthem wich Guns, or take them

in toils, as they praétifed in the times of

thelnc.u.

They feed commonly in the

highefi pares ofthe mountains near the Snows; the Fleíh may be e?ten, though it·

be .noc fo favoury as that of the

Huanaeu;

and though ic be .lean and tough, is yec

eíl:eemed by the

Indians.

. They have Fallow Deer and Stags in

Peru,

though they are much lefs rhan 'thofe

Spain,

the

Indians

call them

T.aruca.;

chey were in fuch numbers, in che times of

the

/ne.u,

thac they were c;.ommon and carne, and would come into the Villages;

and fro

m ·all chefe wild Beaíl:s chey now take out che Bezar-fione, though in my

time.ir

was a rhing not imagined, or'fought for. They have certain forts of wild

or mo

untain Cats, which they call

Ouotto,

belng ofcwo or tqree kinds. , .

Their Foxes are much lefs than thofe in

Spain,,

which chey call

Atoe

they have

alfo ocher little Animals, leífer chan our Houfe-cacs, which the

Indians

call

Anna.;

and che

Spaniards Zorrin.u ;

if cbeir Smell were

weec, as ic is íl:inking, ic,would

fürpafsthe Musk or Amber; but as it is feculent, it is the mG>íl: offenfive fmell in

che World, and the,/link of ic is

íl:rong, that it·may·

fmelt at the difiante

ofa hundred paces, and chough che Doors and Window,s are 0mt, yet: ~he funk

fubrile, ·that ic will find an entrance ac the Crevices :

Ic is well rhac thefe

Creamres·are not in great numbers, for if they were, they were able tp p,ojforí

and íl:ench upa whole Coqntrey.. They have bo_ch carne and wild Conies, diffe–

rent from each ocher, both io colour and taíl:e ; chey

qll

them

Coy;

fome carne

Conies have been broaghc from

pain,

chough the

Indiab

will·give,lirrle

for

them ,

and yec becaufe their Counrries ·do noc aboqnd in Fleíh , they eíl:eem the!n for

greac Delicacies, and eat them with much delig!?t. Theye is

anotlrer:forr.of

Co–

ney which they have called

Vi:,;.,Mcha,

hath a long Tail like a

Car, and is¡)iy

:cl in

the MountaÍl)s where che Snows lie.

che Reign of rhe

Ine&,

and ma¡,3/'<years

afcer, uñtill che times that I rernemher chey made great ufe of rhe Skins of chefe

V v

Coniesi