The royal commentaries of Peru : in two parts / written originally in spanish by the Inca Garcilasso de la Vega; rendred into english by sir Paul Rycaut.

Royal Commentaries. BooK .Vll. in wirhout a Guide, or direétion of a twine of Thread, .which being fafiened ac che enrrance direéted their return chrough all1the·Turnmgs and Meanders of it. When I w~ a Boy I often went up ro the Calle, wich others of che f:une age wich me; and then che upper Rooms were all ruined, and fome of thofe wMch were under · imo which we duríl: noc adventure fart~er than we could fee the light which 'ouned in them, for the Jndians to!d us, that if we advencured f.mher, we fhould lofe our felves, and Qever find our way out again. In making rheir Vaults they were ignorant of the way of arching, but infiead rhereof chey laid Braggets or Cor beis ofSto · hich ferved in the place of Bearns for fupporr of che whole frame of Building, ich being equally cut, and fhaped ar ali ends reached from one Wall to che ot er. All che great Fabrick of chis Fortrefs was made in part of polifhed, and part of rough Stone, richly embelltfhed according to che beíl: of the~r Art, whereby the lnctU made oft~ntation boch_of rheir Skill and Grandeur, bemg defüous to advance che Excellency and Magnifi- cence of chis Work above any ocher; chat fo it might remain for a confumma- tion of ali cbeir Trophies; and indeed fo it preved, for che Spaniards, a few years afcer chiswas compleced, inv:ided cheir Empire, and puc a ftop to che proceedings of feveral other great Works, which they defigned to have finifhed. There were four chiefUndertakers in the Building of chis 'Fortrefs; the princi- pal Perfon, who drew the Draughc, and deGgned che whole Plot , was Huallpa Kimachi, he was an fnca, and fiiled Apu, which fignifies Chief; the fecond to him was Inca Marictmchi, and the third Acahuana Inca, to whom they afcribe tbe chief contrivance of che Buildings at Tiahuanacu, ·which we have formerly mentioned. The fourth and laíl: was Calla Cunchuy, in whofe time che great Stone which refied in che way was brought chicher, and his Name engraved on ic, as a rnonumenc to conferve his memory; the which Stone (or Rock rather) was of chaevaíl: pro- porcion, and fo exceeding all the others, that I would gladly inferr here che true rneafure of its height and thicknefs , but in regard I have nót procured an exaél: and cercain accoum of ir, I Oull refer rny felf to che relation of thofe who have feen it: le remains in the Plain before the Fomefs, to wbich, as the Jndian.t fay, ic could 'never arrive, in regard ic tired by the way, and wepcbloud, proceeding from the coi! ,and fatigue ic had endured in ics motion. ·The fione is rough and unpolilhed. in che farne rnanner as it was· hewn from irs Quarry, a great part of it is buried under ground, and they fay, it is now funk lower chan wlien 1 faw it; for chey fanfied that chere was greac treafure hid under it, and for that reafon they digged abouc it as deep as they were able, thac fo chey mighc arrive ac chis imagi- nary Riches; bue in regard thac as they digged rhe Scone funk lower, cherefore the greatefi pare of ic is now hidden under the Earth. According to my beíl: rernem- brance it hath a hole or two upon che upper p:irt of it, or fuch as paífes from one 1 · fide to the other; che Jnditirns call thefe boles the E yes of the Stone, out ofwhich it wept bloud ; from the Dufi which is lodged in chofe Holes, and the continua} droppings ofwater upon them, it hath died the Srone in thofe pares with a reddifh colour, becaufe the foil thereabouts is of the fame coloúr, and which the Jndian; fay proceeded frorn che bloud which iífued with che cears of thac Stone. This Fable is cornrnonly reponed amongíl: the Jndians, and I have heard it ofcen from them. Bue che true Moral of chis Fable, recounted by- the Inca's Amaut.u, who were their Philofophers; and people of learning, was chis: That this Stone, or Rock, was moved and drawn by twenty thoufand Jndians, who dragged arid drew ir with great Cables; the undercaking w:is greac, for it was to pafs chrough cragged, and unev~n ways, and over Afcents and Defcems; one half of rhe people drew be- fore, tbe orher half were on each fide co poife the weighr, and keep che Stone d\- ,reél:, leíl: it íhould fall inro any precipice, or grave\ it felf in any place, from whence it could never be recovered. It is faid, rhat for wabt ofdue care in chofe who had the poifing of this weighr, it happened ro lean too much rowards che de- fcent of a hill, and being over-born by ics great burthen, it tumbled down a bank, and killed ch_ree or fo~r chou~nd of. chofe. Indians who \~ere rJ.;¡e guides co direét a~d fopport it; notwH_híla_ndmg w hic~ misfortu!1e they again .took courage, and ra1fed che Stone, carrymg it to the Plam where it riow reíl:s. The Bloud which it íhed, and fqueezed 'from the Veins of thefe poor Wretches, were the true tears· which iífued from the hollow orbs of its Eyes; and becaufe the weight was too - \raíl: ro be carried up to the place, unto which ic was defigned, chey faid, that it tired