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.

., R.óyal Commentariu. BooK IX. " cers · they had no Beards ; fome of them were cloathed with che Skins af · " Beaíl:s others were naked, and without other covering than long hair, which " natur; had given them. They brought no VvT ornen ""'.ith thern, but being ar- " rived ac chis Poinc, chey landed,· and feated themfelves mthe rnanner ofpeople " under Governmenc, of which rhere remain fome.Ruines to this day : Bue in re- " gard they found no water, tbey fer themfelves to make Wells, which chey dig- ''. ged out oflthe hard living Rock'· fo chat they rnay continue ror rnany Ages, ~' and which fpeak the great and m1ghcy íl:rength of thofe robulhous Meo ; and " being very deep, they yield a·rnoíl: fweet and pleafant water, very cool, and " wholfome to drink. " Thefe grear Giants, or over-grown Men, having feated thernfelves, and pro. " vided Ciílerns for their Drink, che next thing was to make a fufficient provi- " fion for their Viétuals ; for they had alrnady almoíl: confumed che whole Coun-- " trey ; for one of th~fe great Men was able to eat as much as fifty of thofe ordi- ' ' nar.y peo~le, that were Natives of the place ; fo that food beginning to want, ' ' they fupplied rhemfelves frolll the great qaantities ofFifh, which they took from " the Sea, which yielded to them in great abundance. They lived with great ' ' abhorrence, and in il1 correfpondence with the people of the Coumrey ; for " their \iV ornen, they could not u[e without killing them ; and the Natives, for '" that and other caufes, as much deteíl:ed them ; but being weakei: than they, th~ " Indians duríl: not attempt, or aífault them , though they often emerrained .Con- " fultations in what manner to take advantages upon them. Sorne years being " Raífed, fince thefe Giants refided in chofe pares, and having no Women fic for. " them, with whom to couple for propagation of their race, their numbers be- ~' gan to diminiíh ; and wancing the natural ufe of Women, by che motion and. ic iníl:igation of che Devil , they burned in Lull: one towards che orher, and ufed " Sodomy publickly in che face of God, and che Sun, without íhame or refpeét " one to the orher. The which abomination being deteíl:able in the fight of " God, as the Natives report, ir pleafed his Divine and pure Majeíly to puniíh " chis unnamral Sin, with a Judgment extraordinary, and agreeable t e enor- " mity ofit: For being one day all rogether conjoined in rhis deteíl:abl ét, rhere " iffüed adreadfull Fire from Heaven, with great noife and thunder; and imme- " diately an Angel proceeded from chis flame with a glittering and flaming Sword, " with which, ar one'blow, he killed them all; and then the Fire confu::ned them, " leaving no more than their bones and skulls, which it pleafed God to fuffer as ' ' teliques to remain for an everlaíling Memorial of chis Judgmenr. Thus much is the Relation of the Giants; the which we have ground to believe, ·becau[e the bones of Men are found time of an incredible bignefs ; and I have heard Spani- ards fay, that they have feen che piece of one hollow Tooth to weigh above half a pound of che Butcher's weight ; and that they had feen one of che Shank-bones of an incredible length and bignefs : befides which evidences, their Wells and Ci- íl:erns are clear teíl:imonies of the places of their habitation. But as to che pares from whence they carne, I am not able to render any accounr. . In the year l) ) O, being in che City de los Reyu, when Don Antonio de Mendo;a was Vice-king, and Governour of New Spain, chere were certain bones of Men digged up, which were of Giams, or Men of an extraordinary proportion ; and I have heard alfo that ar Mexico there were bones digged out of a Sepukhre, which for being of an excraordinary fize, might be the bones of Giancs : By which teíl:imony of fo many perfons, it 2lainly ªP.pears, that there were Giancs, :md thofe bones might be the reliques of chofe miglity•Men, of which "e have al~ ready fpoken. At thisCape of Se. Helena, ( which as I have farc! is upon the Coaíl: of Per11, ~nd bo'.dering nea~ to Puerto Viejo) there is one rhing.very confiderable, and chat 1s a Mine, or Spnng of Tar, of fuch excellem quahcy, and which iffues in that plenry, as may ferve to Tar a whole Fleet of Ships. Thus far are the Words of Pedro de Ciefa, which we have faithfully cranfcribed out of his Hiíl:ory to fbew the Tradition which the Indians have of thefe Giants ; and che Spridg of Tar .which illues out abouc chat place, which is a·matter alfo very obfervable. C H A P.