Chap. VII. WONDERFUL PICTURE OF COPACABANA. 115 



After the conquest, the Spanish Viceroys handed over the 

 province of Chucuito, and the ishinds in the lalce, to the 

 Dominican friars, who succeeded in introducing far grosser 

 and more degrading superstitions amongst the Indians than 

 they had ever practised on the islands of Titicaca and Coata ; 

 and in establishing, on the adjacent peninsula of Copacabana, 

 a shrine, the pretended sanctity of which attracted devotees 

 and rich presents from all parts of Spanish America. 



Its origin appears to have been as foUows : — A member 

 of the family of the Incas, named Francisco Titu Yupauqui, 

 not having money enough to buy an image of the Virgin for 

 his church, painted a very bad pictm-e, and the cura, Antonio 

 de Almeida, either to please the Indian, or because there 

 were few images or pictures in the country, allowed it to 

 be placed near the altar. But the next cura, Antonio de 

 Montoro, seeing that it caused more laughter than devotion, 

 ordered it to be put in a corner of the sacristy. The 

 poor artist then went to Potosi to learn to paint, and, after 

 much labour, he succeeded in completing a picture which, 

 the moment it was placed in the church at Copacabana, 

 began to work miracles. It was set up in 1583, and the 

 Inca painter died in 1608. The fu-st thing the picture 

 did was to banish aU devils out of the province, and to cure 

 many Indians of their diseases ; and its fame became so great 

 that in 1588 the Count of Villar, viceroy of Peru, solemnly 

 delivered it to the care of the Augustine friars by a royal 

 edict. Between 1589 and 1652 it is said to have performed 

 186 miracles. One Alonzo de Escote, for favours received, 

 saved up money for the pm-pose of giving the Virgin a lamp, 

 and at length he presented the richest then to be found in the 

 Spanish colonies, twenty feet long, with sockets for as many 

 candles as there are days in the year, all of solid silver. 

 Even as late as 1845, when Dr. WeddeU saw the church, 

 it was very richly gUt. 



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