584 smithsonian miscellaneous collections vol. 102 



Chapter XC [88] (84) 



Of King Huayna Capac and His Conquests and Vicissitudes [of 

 His Successors]. 



1573. Huayna Capac, twelfth most powerful monarch and emperor 

 of the Incas, laid aside the yellow tassel which was the princes' 

 insignia, and assumed the red tassel, in token of possession of royal 

 power ; he fulfilled all the honors and solemnities of placing his 

 father in the Temple of the Sun, spending an entire year in those 

 formalities, as was customary for a king's funeral rites ; and then 

 he set out on an inspection of his realms, to remedy abuses which 

 might exist, and to promote universal justice and well-being for his 

 vassals. While engaged in this he received word of the birth of his 

 first son ; thereupon he came at once to the court to celebrate his 

 birth and give him a name ; and for the joyous occasion he ordered 

 a gold chain made with each link as thick as a man's wrist and 350 

 paces long, as was related by the Indians of those days and is stated 

 in their writings by the historians — a jewel of incredible magnificence, 

 and on a par with other achievements of his. 



1574. Accordingly when he had celebrated the festivities for the 

 birth of the prince his heir, he ordered an army of 40,000 men 

 raised and with it went down to the plains to the great city of Chimu. 

 From there he started campaigning and brought under his sway the 

 valleys of Chicama, Pascamayu, Saiia, Chiclayo, Lambayeque, Allanca, 

 Reque, Motupe, Olmos, Catacaos, Colan, and many others, as far 

 as Tumbes ; these valleys were thickly settled with people who became 

 devoted and obedient to him ; he appointed teachers among them, to 

 inculcate his laws and govern them and uphold justice. Then he 

 went to Quito and spent over 2 years ennobling that Kingdom with 

 sumptuous temples and splendid buildings ; he had great irrigation 

 canals made, drawing water from the rivers to irrigate the fields for 

 their crops and flocks. 



1575. After doing this he ordered a large army raised and went 

 with it to the Sullana valleys down by the sea ; from there he sent 

 a summons for submission to the natives of Tumbes, who paid their 

 allegiance to the Inca. Chunana, Chintuy, Collonche, Laquall, and 

 other valleys were likewise brought under his sway. In Tumbes he 

 built sumptuous temples to the Sun and to his Chosen Virgins, 

 adorning them with great wealth of gold and silver and other precious 

 things. After doing this he chastised the natives of the Huancavilca 

 tribe for the treachery which they had wrought on the officers and 

 functionaries of his father, and then subdued the Indians on the 



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