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.

BooK IX. Royal Commentaries. and upon che Deck, and in corners of che ~hip, fo rnany of his Enetnies ílain, whích appeared upon account to be three hundred eighty, and odd, which he fad killed wirh his Spit, beftdes others which had been wounded. The lick Man, eirher out @f fear, or joy of his viétory, recovered his health, being much pleafed afterwards ro recount the particulars of this.fuccefs. In di- vers places upon the Coaíl of Peru, and in divers years, umill 1 )7z, and 73, there. were great Deíl:ruétions, and even Plagues, caufed by the incredible multitudes of Rats and Mice; which fwarrning over all the Land, ate up theSeeds which were throrm into the ground, as alfo the Fruit-trees, which _they pilled of their bark from the roots, to che very buds and fprouts; fo that the Trees dying, the Inha- bitants were forced ro make new Plamations in their places; and feared that they fhould have been forced to abandon their Dwellings,had not God in merey caufed thac Plague to ceafe on a fudden, when it was juíl: at .che extremity of defirufüon; The parciculars of which incredible darnages, we íhall, for brevicy fake, ornit. CH A, P. XXIII. ""lj Of their Hens and Pig~ons. W E come now, in thé next place, to fpeak of Fovyls, of which few othe~ have been tranfported into ·Peru, unlefs Poultry, fuch as Cocks, and Hens, and carne Pigeons; or Houfe-d oves. As for Stock:cjoves, or Wood-Pige- ohs, 1 know not whether any have be.en as yet brought chither. As to Hens; tbcre is a certain Authour, who writes,,. that they were found in Peru, before the tim~ that the >Spaniards conquered'it ; a~d for. ptoof thereof he alle9ge~, that the : -Jndtttn1 have a proper 'Name for a Hen·m their own Language, wh1ch is Gualpa; an~ for an Egg, which is Ronto ; and th~t the Indians have the farne-propriety ·iri the1r f peech for aCoward, whom they call aHen, or Hen-hearted; as the Spaniardt have: To which Argument we íhall give this fatisfaél:ory anfwer: , We íhall leave rhe Name of Gu11,lpa untill the end of this Chapter, and íhall begin with the word Ronto, or Runtu, which fignifies an Egg, not of a Hen in particular, but in general of any Fowl, vvhether tame or vvild; and vvhen they mention an Egg, chey add che Fovvl br Bird frorn vvhich it is produced, as of a Hen, Parcridge, or Dove, «'fré. And fo much for Runtu, on the Egg. . As to the expreffion of Gualpa, or Hen, to fignifie a Covvard, the Indians rnay bave,deduced, or taken it up, from the Spaniards, as is ordinary for people vvho have entertained a familiaritY and converfation vvith another to borrovv thei~ phrafes and proprieties of their Language ; as is commonly feen, hovv our Spani- ards, that ~ravd into Ita/y, France, Flanders and Germanj, do, frequemly rnake ufe of the Proverbs and Expreffions vvhich they have learned from íl:ranger Nations 5 fo alfo the Indians have takeri chis vvord from the Spaniards to denote·a Covvard , for ochervvife, in their ovvn Tongue, chey vvant not vvords more fignificant than this Spánijh Saying; for they fornetime call him Huarr1ti, vvhich is Wornan ; and , fave che proper vvord Ctimpa, vvhich fignifies a Man <Df a pufi!lanirnous Spirit, and one vvithout Heart or Courage, as alfo rhey have che vvord Llanclla; fo that the Metaphor of a He.n is .borrovved from che Spaniards; in vvhich 1 rnay be cre- dited, confid.ering that 1 1ny ' felf arn an l ndian, . .. The word Gua!pa is corrupted by comrafüon of the Syllables, and is infiead of Atahua!pa, which doth not fignifie a Hen, but was the Narne of the laíl: Inca , that reigned in Peru, whofe'Life was fo bloudy, as we fhall relace·in its due pl~cé, that he exceeded in cruelty all the . fierce and wild Beafis and Baftlisks in th_e World; for he being a Baílard by fubtile artífices and contrivances, Murthered h1s Elder Brother Hr1afcar, \vho was lawfull Heir, and Ufurped his Kingdom; and fo with cruel t0rtneñts, never before known or irivented, he deíl:royed the who1e - D d d Bloud-