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Royal Commentaries.
BooK
V,
CH A P.
XX.
The Army ledves
Ancahuaylla,
and
pa/fes the River
Aman–
cay.
The dijficulties they found
in paf!ing
the River
9f
Apurimac,
over
which they
defign to
mak.e
four Bridges.
~arvajal's
Counfel
i4
rejeEled
by
Gon~alo Pi~arro.
T
H E extremity
of
¡he
Winter feafon being paíl: , che Prelidenc refolved
to
lea've
4ntahuaylla,
.and goe in queíl: of
Gonfalo Piftm-o,
who was in
Co~co;
and accordingly he marched with his Army to tne River of'
Amancay,
which che
Spanif1rd1
call
Avancay,
and is apout cwemy leagues diíl:ant from that City. When
chey carne chither, they fo4nd cha
e
che Bridge had been burnc, for (as we have
faid before) ali the Bridges of thac Coumrey were made of Twiíl:s of Ofiers
3
whereupon they decermined
to
repair it again , whiéh was ealily effeél:ed, che Ri–
ver being narrow , :ind fome of che old work remaining : having paífed chis
Ri–
ver che moíl: difficulc task was how
to
país the River of
Apurimac :
it íeemed im-
.
poffible for chem
to
go over by che Banks of the high Road , becaufe che chanel
'1-To ,~htch
f
is chere very broad ; it was yet more narrow ac che place where che
*
Poíl:s were
~
1
fic~t~~~sº
fixed on each fide, and yer from che one
to
che other 'cis above two hundred pa–
raflned.
ces wide: belides which there was a greater difficulty
to
overcome; and chacwas
in cafe chey took thac way, they were
to
travel over a defolate and an unpeopled
Countrey where few
Indians
inhabited , and chofe
fo
very poor, that they had
feme Bread or ProviGons
to
fuíl:ain (hemíelves. Aclengch chey refolved to p¡¡(s
che Army over one of che three Bridges, which they imended to make over thi
River above, where che chane! is comraél:ed by the moumains on each fide. On~
of theíe places w¡¡s called
Cotapampa,
che ocher, which
is
higher,
Huacachaca,
and che
uppermoíl:
Acchr1.
And chough che accefs
ro
any of cheCe places by reafon ofche
high
and cragged Mountains feems impoffible for an Amw, and for any to conceive who
hath noc feen them ; yet they reíolved to overcome che difficulcies by reafon thac
there was no ocher way befides that. And
to
amufe the Enemy, they feerned
as
if Lhey intended
to
make four Bridges,
ar
four feveral places; and
to
make chem
believe fo, they caufed about fifceen or cwency loads of Ofiers to be carried
to
eve–
ry of che four places; whereas
to
make one ofchofe Bridges, at leaíl: four thoufand
loads of Ofiers and Rufhes are required, beGdes great quancities of Ropes and Ca–
bles, ali which were provided ac che charge and pains of che poor
Jndians.
The
places where theíe Bridges were
to
be
formed were
to
be furveyed by fome par–
ticular perfons, whofe care it was
to
provide rnaterials for che fame ; as
PalentinQ
confirrns, Chap.
86.
Pedro Alonfo (}arafco
was appointed to goe to che place near
che common road,
Lorenyo Martin
to
Cotapampa, Don Pedro Puerto Carrero
and
Tho-·
mM Vafr¡ue,:,,
to
Accha, Antonio de f2l.nnonez.
and
rohn rulio de Hojeda
to
Guacachaca.
I
was acquainted with ali cheíe Gentlemen , when they lived at
Couo,
and four of
chem were of che firíl: Conquerours : And h~ving furveyed ali chefe four places ,
they concluded rhac che moíl: eafie paífage m1ght be rnade at
Cotapampa;
which
they
pm
in execution wirh great fecrecy, that che report thereof rnighc noc come to
the knowledge of che Enell)y. The perfons applied chemfelves to cheir refpeltive
íl:ations , as was ordered; and in the mean rime che Prefidenc marched his Ar–
my with invincible difficulty over craggy Rocks and Moumains covered wirh
Snow; which, as divers Authours reporc, is fo white and glircering, chat with
looking rhereupon many people lofe their fighc; chough ir is probable, as we have
faid in another place, chat che whitenefs thereof dazles che eyes, and the force of
the objeél: weakens che opcick nerve, which may fo continue
for
three or four
days, and not longer. And here we íhall leave chem for fome time, fabouring
under the great difficulties of their march, to relate che Contrivances of
Francifco
de Carvajal,
who was folic~tous to fuíl:ain and augment che greacnefs
bf
Pifarro.
Soon after che PreGdent had removed bis Camp from
Antahuaylla,
and was on his
march towards
Co.,co, Gonfalo Pifarro
received inrelligence chereof; for from time
ro time