of Lima is temperate, and rain has never been known either there, or in any part of that coast, from Erguita[1] to San Miguel, because the same winds blow throughout the year. Therefore the houses built by the Indians were more for protection from the sun than from rain. They had houses of the sun where there were certain statues of gold, and the pillars, bolts, and doors were all of gold and silver in great quantity. The people of that land were well versed in weights and measures; and they were great workers in silver, after their fashion. Guanacaba was so strict concerning the houses of gold and silver which he built, that the worker in those metals who did not do his work as it was ordered, died for it. Besides the tribute which was given to this lord, he had great mines of gold and silver.
No lord, however great he might be, entered the presence of the Inga in rich clothing, but in humble attire and barefooted, and with some offering which he carried on his shoulders; though he had come to the presence in a rich litter of silver and gold. Nor might any man look at the Inga's face but with eyes down and very humbly. The shirt which the Inga had once worn, was never used again, nor the cup nor the plate. They had extremely grand and strange usages.
From San Miguel towards Puerto Viejo and the north the climate changes; for it rains in certain seasons, and the heat is greater. The people too are very different. They go to sea to fish, and navigate along the coast in balsas made of light poles, which are so strong that the sea has much ado to break them. They carry horses and many people, and are navigated with sails, like ships. In these provinces are found the rich emeralds which are met with throughout the land. On the coast there
- ↑ Arequipa.
