488 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I02 



tion of the crops. They have abundance of fruit in good season, 

 both native and all sorts of Spanish varieties, and in such fashion 

 that the trees bear fruit the whole year through and there is never 

 any lack ; and they assured me when I was there in 16 16 that accord- 

 ing as they prune the quince bushes and grapevines, they can regulate 

 the production of the fruit, of which they have great amounts, as 

 well as of apples, pippins, peaches, etc. For this reason they put up 

 the finest preserves in this city in all the Indies, and the roof tiles of 

 Huanuco, made from their gourds, are famous. 



Chapter XLIV [45] (46) 



Continuing the Description of Huanuco. 



1364. The city is very healthy, and though it is hot, God provides 

 a noon breeze which regularly purifies the city and has never failed 

 a single day since its founding. The city will contain 100 Spaniards, 

 with in addition 400 mestizos and ordinary rabble. The area of this 

 city is ample enough for a very large city ; at its start they put up 

 very fine buildings in long blocks, and villas where they have lovely 

 gardens with many varieties of native and Spanish fruit trees and 

 oranges and lemons. The founders of this city all belonged to the 

 nobility and for that reason it was called Leon de los Caballeros ; 

 at the start they had large incomes, and today the city has them in 

 its jurisdiction, which is considerable. The city has a Corregidor, 

 appointed by the Viceroy. In view of the needs felt by this city and 

 its provinces, where there are many candidates for confirmation, 

 His Majesty has been petitioned for a long time to give them a 

 Bishop ; for lack of one the city has been going downhill and is 

 almost abandoned ; this is the reason why the encomenderos' families 

 usually live in Lima and spend and eat up their incomes there, to the 

 loss of this city. That would all be remedied if His Majesty would 

 give them a prelate of their own and would order the encomenderos 

 to reside there ; his coming would facilitate and reestablish everything, 

 and the Panataguas Indians, who are heathen and warlike and do 

 much damage in that region, would be brought by his presence to the 

 knowledge of our Holy Faith ; and a convent of nuns could be built 

 there, to keep the daughters of the city from leaving home ; and they 

 likewise are a serious expense to their fathers. The city has an 

 excellent parish church and Dominican, Franciscan, Augustinian, and 

 Mercedarian convents, all excellent and well built ; a hospital for the 

 care of the indigent sick with over 4,000 pesos income ; and other 

 churches and shrines of Our Lady of Guadelupe and of San Sebas- 

 tian ; and there are many mercantile establishments and grocery stores. 



