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. 'e HA P. XXXVIt 1 ,, 0¡ ~1/Je Cruelty whicli Atahualpa ·ufed towards the Women and GhiUren of the Bloud-Roya!. . l ' . J \, . I A Tahualpt!- havimg deílroyed aU the Mtm ~f the .Royal Family, . to~~ther with . all rhe C,lfnacris, Cornm~nders and. Sue1e~1s, of any note belongmg to Hu- 4 ,c,u .; his Cruel~ies,, which '\-Vere never fatiated with humane fleíl) and l?loud, pro- · .c~edi;d with new-thiríl: and at>~}iti; to devqur t~e Children and W ornen, being ,chtf 1;1nhappy ReJjéts of tl;ie Royal.Race ; an4 ,though the tendernefs of their Sex ,;m9 Age was fu(fi~icmt to mo\'.e compaffion,\ aDd, plead in their behalf; yet fo ob- durat-e we-re the Bowels of this Tyrant, tha&.he made fearch in·all pl¡¡ces for the W;Gmen and Children of tlre Royal Race, ( excepting onely theWives of the Sun, w;hich conferved :_themfelves within rhe Wal!s _of ~heir Convent ) and having ga- tl-¡~e-d chem together without the ·City, they pra~ifed fuch tormems upon them, .thát, .they died with lingring Ji~aths. , After wliich thefe damnable Miniíl:ers of .~roelty made ch.e füiél:eíl: fearch they could through all the Dominions, for thofe of the Royal Bloud, that fo not any of them might efcape their hands ; fo . thac .in 1 aµ,parcs they bad c-olleéteg great numqers boto of Men and Women, as we)l iJlegitimate, as legj.timate; for ~at _the Incas having a greater liberty and licence gramed them in.-thefree uíe ofWomen, "than, any otners, th~¡r Family became -the. moíl: numetous and extenfive of any in the whole Empire. And having thus colleétied thefe people, they ranged them in .a Plain, wh~ch !yes abouc a Leágue di- , fünt to the Northward of tbe City ;· which Fiel_d hath been called Yahua'rpam¡nt; or'the Field ofBloud, c,:!Vér lince che Fight which happeµed in that place between the Chancas, and the people of Co~co, as we have decla.r~d formerly .in iés due place. Thefe poor wvetehes being in this manner Prifoners in -the Field, they encom- palfed them·with three Files ; the firíl: was of Souldiers, y..r,ho were to be a guard . about them, and to @ppofe any Infurreétion in cafe the City 9f Cow íhould at- tempt it, and ferve to bridle and fubjeét their Ene~ies ~ and ihen the other two · Files were SemineJs and Guards, leíl: any íhould efcape, or any others enter in -a- ' m'ongíl: rhem to bring t_hem relief. Upon thefe fad wretches they praétifed their · 1 Cruelries in fevetal 1 manners; to fome they gave onely a little raw Mayz to eat, and a few crude Herbs, making them to cominue the füiétnefs of fuch a Faíl: as their Religion enjoyned them for a few days; che Wives, Siíl:ers, Aunes, <;oufm- Germans, and Morhers- in-law of Atahualpa they hanged upon Trees, the ralleft an9 moíl: lofty that they could find ; foníe they hanged up by the hairs of the head, orhers under the armes, and others in that unhandfome manner, as becomes not our modeíl:y to report ; to fome of them they delivere.d their Infants to hold in their armes, whicn when they fell from them, they knocked them on the heád with Clubs ; fome they hanged by one arme, fome by both, and others by the waíl:e, that fo they might be long in dying, for to kill them at once, feemed too much merey, and·which thefo poor wrerches implored wifh their laíl:, cries and groans. The Boys and Girls they killed by degrees, bringing out a number ~o . e:learh :i.r every quarter of che Moon, ufog them with no lefs cruelry than they liad exercifed rowards their Parems ; and amongíl: ·their other tonnems, fiarving \.y:as one way of killing. Diego Ferna(lde~ in his Hiíl:ory of Peru, touching briefly cin the Crµelries which Atahualpa ufed, ·hath rhefe words: " Between Gua[car ' ~ Ínga , and bis Brorher Atabal1pa, there happened ·a great difpute and conrro- • " \rerfie concerning rhe Governmeo.t r and him "'iho was to be rhe Supreme " Monarch. Guafcar Inga r.eÍtding in Co:(;co, and bis Brorher Atabalipa in Caxa " M alea. Atabalipa difpeeded two of his principal Captains, called Chalcuchimdn, " and fl.!!iz..quiz:- , who being valiant and íl:out Men, ra ifed a greacArmy, and " therewith )'llarched againíl: Guafcar, with defign, that having overcóme and ta ~ ~ ken him Prifoner, A1aba!ipa íhould be declaredKing.. In .chis March they fob- . " dued