Book V 



Of the District of the Circuit Court of the Charcas, With a 

 Description of All Its Provinces; the Products of the Soil, Native 

 and Spanish ; the Rich Mines of Potosi, etc. ; the Cattle Ranches ; 

 Its Cities and Towns and Their Founding ; the Governorships and 

 Corregimientos to Which His Majesty Makes Appointments in Con- 

 sultation with the Royal Council of the Indies, together with the 

 Prelacies, Dignities, and Prebends ; the Corregimientos in the Ap- 

 pointment of the Viceroy of Peru ; and the Other Features Worthy 

 of Mention. 



Chapter I 



Of the Provinces of Chucuito and Paucarcolla of the District of 

 the Diocese of La Paz. 



1616. The Province of San Francisco de Paucarcolla is bounded 

 by the villages of Ayaviri and Urcosuio of the Province of Cabana 

 and Cabanilla, at which point the Circuit Courts of the Charcas and 

 Lima meet. This province has nine villages : San Francisco de 

 Paucarcolla, which is 5 leagues from Chucuito ; San Francisco de 

 Tillaca ; Puno ; Icho ; and Coata, all of whose residents are Uros 

 Indians ; they spin llama wool from which they make such a quantity 

 of sacks (costales) which people come and buy for freighting on 

 llamas, that merely for this commerce in sacks, this village of Coata 

 takes in every year over 200,000 pesos, which is great commerce and 

 riches. The other remaining villages in this province are Capachica, 

 Vilque, Moho, and Huancane, all well ofif because of their large 

 flocks of llamas and sheep. Between this province and that of 

 Chucuito there are some rich silver mines which fall within the 

 jurisdiction of this province, although the Corregidores appointed 

 by the Viceroy for their wise government and for the dispensing of 

 justice, have had certain controversies and lawsuits over the 

 jurisdiction. 



1617. The Province of Chucuito comes right next to that of Paucar- 

 colla, which bounds it to the N. This Province of Chucuito is the 

 leading one in El Collao. It is cold country, with abundant pasturage 

 for cattle. It has all its villages on the banks of the great Lake 

 Titicaca, commonly called Lake Chucuito. This is over 80 leagues 

 long and on every side its banks harbor wide provinces ; it can be 



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