CHAPTER LXXXVII

    How they discovered great deposits of gold in the river Caravaya, how Vaca de Castro ordered all the old tambos and lodgings to be occupied, and of the departure of Pedro Anzures and Francisco Becerra for Spain.

VERY great things happened in the Realm at this time; and notwithstanding the constant wars, the people who lived in it appeared very contented and seemed to take fresh heart, at all points. And it pleased God, in appreciation of the Christian zeal of the Emperor Don Carlos, our lord, that great kingdoms and provinces should be discovered during his reign, full of rivers and hills, the richest in metals of gold and silver that have ever been seen. Although the sins of the men who live out here are many, their Catholic aspirations and eagerness to make war on the infidels in support of the great expense and disbursements involved, led them on in these enterprises. So it was that in this year the richest of all the gold mines in this country were found at a river called Caravaya—of which I do not treat here, because I have told about it in my "Book of Foundations." The gold that was extracted was of perfectly pure quality, and there were many instances of 500 and 1,000 pesos being taken from one trough. Altogether they got from this river more than 1,300,000 pesos' worth. As the treasure was so great, so also the labour was not less. It employed many gangs of Indians and, the climate being very different from that of Peru, a great number of them died. From these natives Vaca de Castro got lavish supplies of gold; and, retaining the coca profits as he did for himself alone, he realized further large sums of money to meet the extravagant expenditure caused by his[309] ostentation and by requiring greater ceremonial homage than was a Governor's due. The rich yield of the river of Caravaya was increasing, and ordinances were enacted to regulate affairs concerning the mines. Hearing that great outrages were being committed on the natives because many of the post houses or tambos on the royal road from Cuzco to Quito were badly provided, and that some men had been carried off in chains, by which God our Lord was ill served, and his Majesty too, Vaca de Castro issued an ordinance which was very proper and beneficial at the moment. He ordered the feoffees and the caciques or Chiefs of the various provinces to see that the post houses were maintained in the same manner as in the days of the King Inca Huayna Coapac, and that they should always be kept supplied with provisions for persons travelling in the Realm. The Chiefs were also obliged to provide certain Indians to go from tambo to tambo with what was necessary; and if any Spaniard should exact more than the statutory provision we have stated, he was to be rigorously punished. In this way the roads were well provided and Spaniards passed along them without trouble.

At this time the captain Alonso de Alvarado, now that the war was over and the King was in possession of the whole country, resolved to proceed to Spain, to give an account to his Majesty of all that had occurred. He set out accordingly and arrived at Tierra Firme just when the Ordinances which his Majesty caused to be sent out reached those parts; the transcript being brought by one Diego de Aller, who also said that Blasco Nu?ez Vela was coming in the capacity of a Viceroy to enforce them. As the captain Pedro Anzures and the accountant Juan de Cáceres were then in Panamá, with other settlers from Peru, they urged Don Alonso to return—for the defence of his property and to petition against the Ordinances. Alonso de Alvarado answered prudently that if he returned[310] and any disturbance should arise, they would blame him for it. The proper thing for them all to do, said he, was to memorialize the King, with great humility, respecting the laws; and that, being so Christian a prince, he would not allow them to be deprived of their estates which they had acquired with so much labour, and that they should go to Spain to present themselves before his Majesty, who would order justice to be done. Besides this that Alonso de Alvarado said to those who were in Panamá, he wrote to the cities of Lima, Truxillo, and Chachapoyas, and others in Peru, advising that they should act in this and in no other way: which fact I adduce in order that the fidelity with which this captain was determined to serve his King may be understood, and even in the presence of the President Gasca I saw clear enough evidence of his loyalty over this business, and it seemed to be true.

But let us now return to our subject, which is that the Governor Vaca de Castro being desirous of dispersing the Spaniards who had collected together owing to the war now ended, and understanding that beyond Charcas, to the west, there were natives and capabilities for founding a city, he ordered the captain Gabriel de Rojas to go and attend to it, and gave him the requisite powers and faculty, in the name of the King. Though Gabriel de Rojas set out to found the city, he did not succeed; and therefore we will say nothing more about that, but we will now speak of the arrival of Gonzalo Pizarro at Cuzco.