387 / 1070
BooKIX.
Royal .
Commentaries.
Trees, which are very capacious in chofe Moumains; chey had no propriery in
Wives, nor Children, bue mixed cogether as chey cafually: mee, and ufed Sodomy–
in an open manner : chey knew noc how
to
cultivate che Land, or doe any other
thing which is conducing
to
humane life. Their Bodies were naked withouc any
habic ; their Lips chey cut .and ílafhed both within and without; cheir Faces they
painted in four quarters, with divers colours; one pare was yellow, anocher blew,
another red, and another black, changing che colours as-they choughc
fic:
They
never combed cheir heads, but fuffered their hairs to grow long and matted, being
foil
of firaw, or dufl-, or any thing that fell upon them; in fhorr, chey were worfe
rhan beafl-s.
In
che year
1560,
when I went for
Spain,
I remember I faw fome
of thefe people ac a place where we couched to rake frefh water, and remained
rhere for three or four days ; and there thefe people carne out
to
us in rheir Boacs_
made of Ruíhesto crade with us, and fell us rbeir great Fiíh, which chey ítruck
with their Fifgigs; which chey performed wich fuch dexcerity, chat che
Spaniards
took
great pleafure to
[ee
them, and would b:irgain for chem before they íl:ruck
them : cheir price was rñade
for
Bisket and Flefh, for they had no value for S!lver :
their .Privities chey covered with leaves, .or barks ofTrees, not for the fhame they
had of thern in che way of common modeíl:y, bue out of re[peél: to che
Spaniards;
in
fhort, they were falvage and barbarous above imagination.
.
It is faid, when
Huayna Capac
obferved che banennefs of chofe Councries, being
nothing bue Mountains; and che befüality of that naíl:y people, which was fo íl:u–
pid,·that he defpaired of ever reducing them .
to
a tolerable Oeconomy ; chat
then he
fhou.Jdfay to bis people,
Come, and •let m return again, far thefe defer·ve not
the Honour of our Dominion.
At which words che whole Army faced about, and
returned, leaving che people of
Paj{au
in their ancient fi!thinefs and brutality.
CH A P. IX.
Of
the Giants
which
were
in
that úuntrey, and 'the
de-'
.
flrutlion of the~J.
B.
Efore we conclud~ our Hiíl:ory relating
tó
che affairs of chis Countrey, we
Can–
. oot omic one notable particular, which the NacivGs by tradition from cheir
Forefathers have received, celling us of certain Giants which carne to chat Coun~
trey by Sea , and landed at that Point, or Cape, which che
Spaniards
call Sr.
He–
len's,
becaufe they firíl: difcovered it i.lpon that day
j
and though che
Spanifh
Wri-'
cers mention Giants, yet there is none who treats of thern
fo
rnuch ac large as
Pe–
dro de Ciefa
doth, who took his informacion from che people of chat Countrey,
where thefe Giants reGded, we fhall make ufe of his Relation, and rehearfe bis
words
verbatim,
as_ he fecs chem clown , for chóugh
¡ofeph Ac0fta,
and che Accoun-'
tam-General
Auguftine de Carate
touch chofe particulars ; yet none defcribe chem
fo
much at large as
Pedro de Cier¡a,
whofe Words are theíe, in che p.d Chapter of
bis Book : " Seeing chat chere are mariy reports of Giants in
Peru,
which, ac–
," cording to cornrnon farne, landed at the Cape ofSr.
He/en,
which lyes near
to
"
Pl!erto Vtejo
;,
I have thought
fit
to declare my opinion in the cafe, without re–
" gard
co
che variety of common repon, which ofcen magnifies things above che
" cruch. The Narives of chis Countrey having receivedjt by tradition from their
" Fathers, tdl us, that many Ages pafl-, chere was
a
fon of Men
of
an extraor–
" dinary ÚZe; which arrived at that Countrey in great Junks; chey were
fo
large,
" that a Man of our ordinary íl:ature reached but to cheir knees; and chat tbeir
" bodies being proporcionable thereunto, ( as
we
may meafure the body of
Herm–
"
les
by
his foot) were íl:range moníl:ers
to
behold: cheirHeads were great, co–
~'. vered with long hair hanging
to
cheir fhoulders; cheir
E
yes were as bigas Sau•
A
a a
z
'.~
cers
s