﻿196 
  SOUTH 
  AMERICAN 
  INDIANS 
  [B. 
  A. 
  E. 
  Bull. 
  143 
  

  

  his 
  detractors, 
  however, 
  that 
  a 
  man 
  can 
  be 
  narrow-minded 
  and 
  cruel 
  

   in 
  public 
  life 
  and 
  still 
  demand 
  a 
  high 
  standard 
  of 
  honesty 
  in 
  official 
  

   reports 
  presented 
  to 
  him. 
  The 
  "Informaciones" 
  prepared 
  at 
  his 
  

   order 
  (Toledo, 
  1940) 
  and 
  Pedro 
  Sarmiento 
  de 
  Gamboa's 
  " 
  History 
  of 
  

   the 
  Incas" 
  (Sarmiento, 
  1906), 
  also 
  written 
  for 
  him, 
  are 
  both 
  detailed 
  

   and 
  accurate, 
  as 
  a 
  comparison 
  of 
  them 
  with 
  Cieza 
  de 
  Leon's 
  earlier 
  

   work 
  will 
  readily 
  show. 
  

  

  Crist6bal 
  de 
  Molina 
  of 
  Cuzco 
  wrote 
  a 
  very 
  valuable 
  account 
  of 
  Inca 
  

   religion 
  about 
  1579 
  (Molina 
  of 
  Cuzco, 
  1913). 
  In 
  1586, 
  Father 
  Miguel 
  

   Cabello 
  de 
  Balboa 
  finished 
  his 
  "Miscelanea 
  Antartica," 
  still 
  in 
  manu- 
  

   script, 
  which 
  contains 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  best 
  accounts 
  of 
  Inca 
  history 
  we 
  have, 
  

   and 
  some 
  interesting 
  information 
  on 
  the 
  north 
  coast. 
  Cabello 
  used 
  

   Sarmiento's 
  manuscript. 
  (Cabello, 
  ms; 
  and 
  a 
  bad 
  French 
  abridge- 
  

   ment, 
  1840). 
  Jose 
  de 
  Acosta 
  wrote 
  his 
  "Historia 
  Natural 
  y 
  Moral 
  de 
  

   las 
  Indias" 
  in 
  1590; 
  it 
  contains 
  some 
  important 
  chapters 
  on 
  the 
  Inca, 
  

   based 
  largely 
  on 
  Polo 
  de 
  Ondegardo's 
  work 
  (Acosta, 
  1940). 
  

  

  The 
  17th-century 
  chroniclers 
  are 
  in 
  general 
  much 
  less 
  reliable 
  

   than 
  the 
  16th-century 
  ones, 
  with 
  the 
  exception 
  of 
  Father 
  Cobo. 
  The 
  

   difference 
  is 
  especially 
  marked 
  in 
  the 
  field 
  of 
  Inca 
  history. 
  Martin 
  

   de 
  Mortia 
  wrote 
  a 
  history 
  between 
  1590 
  and 
  about 
  1605 
  which 
  is 
  

   rambling 
  and 
  confused 
  but 
  contains 
  valuable 
  information 
  on 
  Inca 
  

   customs. 
  He 
  also 
  preserves 
  some 
  important 
  Quechua 
  texts 
  (Morua, 
  

   1922-25) 
  ."Fray 
  Antonio, 
  " 
  a 
  priest 
  who 
  wrote 
  in 
  1608, 
  has 
  been 
  given 
  

   far 
  more 
  credit 
  than 
  he 
  deserves. 
  He 
  is 
  extremely 
  unreliable. 
  

   (Antonio, 
  1920; 
  cf. 
  Means, 
  1928, 
  pp. 
  328-30; 
  Levillier, 
  1942.) 
  

  

  Garcilaso 
  de 
  la 
  Vega 
  (1723) 
  was 
  the 
  son 
  of 
  a 
  Spanish 
  soldier 
  and 
  an 
  

   Inca 
  princess. 
  He 
  left 
  Peru 
  in 
  1560 
  and 
  spent 
  the 
  rest 
  of 
  his 
  life 
  in 
  

   Europe, 
  writing 
  his 
  "Royal 
  Commentaries" 
  in 
  his 
  old 
  age. 
  He 
  has 
  

   long 
  enjoyed 
  an 
  undeserved 
  position 
  of 
  authority 
  in 
  matters 
  relating 
  

   to 
  the 
  Inca 
  (Means, 
  1928, 
  pp.367-81; 
  Levillier, 
  1942; 
  Eowe, 
  1945). 
  

   He 
  is 
  useful 
  for 
  those 
  aspects 
  of 
  Inca 
  life 
  which 
  survived 
  into 
  the 
  Co- 
  

   lonial 
  Period 
  and 
  which 
  he 
  saw 
  with 
  his 
  own 
  eyes, 
  but 
  his 
  accounts 
  

   of 
  Inca 
  history 
  and 
  religion 
  are 
  entirely 
  fanciful. 
  The 
  best 
  parts 
  of 
  

   the 
  book 
  are 
  the 
  descriptions 
  of 
  plants 
  and 
  animals 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  Inca 
  

   and 
  Colonial 
  monuments 
  of 
  the 
  city 
  of 
  Cuzco. 
  One 
  of 
  Garcilaso's 
  

   most 
  important 
  sources 
  was 
  a 
  Jesuit 
  named 
  Bias 
  Valera, 
  whose 
  verac- 
  

   ity 
  has 
  been 
  widely 
  accepted 
  because 
  of 
  the 
  praise 
  Garcilaso 
  bestowed 
  

   on 
  him. 
  (See 
  Means, 
  1928, 
  pp. 
  497-507.) 
  Valera's 
  claims 
  will 
  not 
  

   stand 
  criticism, 
  however. 
  I 
  have 
  cited 
  one 
  of 
  his 
  reports, 
  written 
  

   about 
  1590, 
  in 
  the 
  section 
  on 
  religion 
  (Valera, 
  1879). 
  

  

  Juan 
  de 
  Santacruz 
  Pachacuti 
  (1879) 
  wrote 
  early 
  in 
  the 
  17th 
  cen- 
  

   tury. 
  He 
  was 
  an 
  Indian 
  from 
  Canas, 
  and 
  wrote 
  abominable 
  Spanish 
  

   much 
  mixed 
  with 
  Quechua 
  phrases. 
  Although 
  his 
  "Relaci6n" 
  is 
  con- 
  

   fused 
  and 
  difficult 
  to 
  use, 
  it 
  contains 
  valuable 
  material 
  on 
  Inca 
  his- 
  

   tory 
  and 
  religion, 
  and 
  some 
  important 
  Quechua 
  texts. 
  Another 
  In- 
  

  

  